Dr. Giovanni Fontecchio, Ph.D, speaks to Class of 2019 about Italy and European culture

On Tuesday, September 18, the seniors gathered in the auditorium for a special presentation about Italy. The guest speaker, Dr. Giovanni Fontecchio, Ph.D, spoke to the seniors about the country itself and his own village outside of Rome.  

Dr. Fontecchio is from Capestrano, Italy, located in the province of L’Aquila, which is about two hours outside of Rome. It is a small village with about 900 people. Dr. Fontecchio discussed how he immigrated to the United States when he was 16 years old. He was born right before the start of World War II. He moved to the Great Lakes in Michigan and stayed there until he earned his high school diploma. When he started applying for colleges, he applied to Louisiana State University (LSU). There, he earned his doctorate and now has a permanent residence.

“I learned a lot that I didn’t know about Italy and it was really neat to hear his life story. I love the culture he was describing and I want to take a trip there,” said Mallory Edwards.  

Story by Sarah Gatlin