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Ryan Calabretta-Sajder, Lecturer in Italian
 

Curriculum vitae

Education:
July 2009-Present Middlebury College Middlebury, VT

  • Candidate for the Doctorate in Modern Languages (Italian, Primary; French, Secondary)
  • Advisor: Antonio Carlo Vitti
  • GPA 4.0/4.0

September 2008- June 2009 University of Chicago Chicago, IL

  • Doctoral work in Italian

August 2005- May 2007 Indiana University Bloomington Bloomington, IN

  • Masters Degree in Italian Literature
  • Minor focus in Comparative Literature & Film Studies
  • Advisor: Peter Bondanella

August 2001-May 2005 Dominican University River Forest, IL

  • Bachelor of the Arts Degree in Italian Studies and English Literature with a Certificate in Medieval and Renaissance Studies
  • Graduated from the Honors College with a Degree with Distinction in Italian Studies
  • Thesis entitled “Teaching Italian: Immersion Method”
  • Graduated magna cum laude/ GPA 3.7/4.0
  • Study Abroad: Dominican University Florence Program June-July 2002
  • Study Abroad: IES Milano/Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore January-
  • June 2004

Professional Positions:

June 2012-August 2012  Middlebury College  Middlebury, VT
Direct Assistant to the Director, La scuola italiana

  • Served as liaison between the faculty and director/associate director
  • Provided faculty with welcome orientation
  • Worked with faculty on creation of syllabi/course sites (web pages/Wordpress/Moodle sites)
  • Served as liaison between the Italian School and the Library/Information Technology
  • Assist in the technological aspects of the Italian School
  • Served as the assistant for Vittorio Taviani during his summer visit
  • Assist the dean with daily activities

August 2009-Present Rice University Houston, TX
Lecturer in Italian, Center for the Study of Languages

  • Teaching load of 3/3
  • Organize and run the Italian Language Table
  • Created the Circolo Italiano (Italian Club)
  • Created a study abroad with students in Taormina, Sicily
  • Serve as director of the Taormina study abroad program
  • Organized and executed the Center for the Study of Languages‟ International Film Festival
  • Assisted in organizing a workshop for the Center for the Study of Languages
  • Active with the LRC technology workshops
  • Creating new courses on the 300 level

Jan. 2008 – Present Babilonia Lang & Cultural Institute Taormina, Sicily
Lecturer in Italian

  • Teaching two specialized, immersion courses: Sicilian Writers, Sicilian Cinema, The Mediterranean Woman, Pirandello: His Times
  • Teach during summer and J-term semesters
  • Give on-site lectures in Italian and English
  • Participate with students in the Taormina International Film Festival
  • Organize cultural activities with students throughout Sicily

Summer 2008 Concordia Language Villages Moorhead, MN
Dean of Lago del Bosco New Jersey

  • Oversee the running of the entire camp
  • Hire/Fire all positions including kitchen staff, waterfront staff, and educators
  • Manage the budget
  • Work with advertising the program
  • Maintain contact with supporters and founders
  • Two-week Curriculum Facilitator (three summers)
  • Write and edit curriculum for the program
  • Train new instructors
  • Observe other instructors teaching and critic their styles with them
  • Meet with other facilitators to discuss new teaching techniques
  • Create/Manage a teaching portfolio to assist newer instructors

August 2007-May 2008 SUNY New Paltz New Paltz, NY
Lecturer in Italian

  • Coordinator of the Italian Language Program
  • Conduct classroom observations
  • Meet, discuss, and create progress growth portfolios with faculty
  • Oversee curriculum and evaluations for the Italian Division
  • Member of the Italian Studies Committee
  • Sit in on meetings
  • Plan and organize the Italian Lecturer Series
  • Oversee the Italian Scholarship process
  • Advisor: Majors/Minors & Study Abroad
  • Teaching load of 4/4: Italian Language, Literature, and Cinema courses
  • Resurrected & sponsored the Italian Club
  • Creator of Cinema Paradiso (Italian Cinema Series) and L’ora della Chiacchiera (entire year)
  • Creator of “Feminism: One Voice, One Culture” (Feminist film series from other foreign languages – supplement to my “Beauty & the Beast – Images ofand From Italian Women” cinema course
  • Held office hours
  • Sat on the departmental curriculum committee

August 2005-May 2007 Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN
Assistant Instructor of Italian-All levels

  • Prepare lesson plans and exams/quizzes
  • Teach lessons completely in Italian
  • Grade homework and exams
  • Grade students
  • Hold office hours

June 2006-July 2006 Abbey Road Overseas Program West Hollywood, CA
Italian Instructor

  • Lived with a group of 21 high school students in Sorrento, Italy for one month
  • Created the syllabus
  • Planned, organized, and taught 1.5 hour classroom lessons with a 1.5 hands-on city component
  • Tutored Italian in afternoons and evenings
  • Organized different weekend trips and activities for the students
  • Graded students and their work

June 2005-July 2005 Dominican University River Forest, IL
Resident Assistant and Teaching Assistant in Art History in Florence, Italy

  • Lived with a group of 30 students in Florence, Italy for six weeks
  • Acted as a liaison between the students and the apartment staff (cleaning lady, manager, etc)
  • Tutored Italian in the afternoons and evenings
  • Helped plan trips in and outside of Florence
  • Reported back information to the Director of Study Abroad in River Forest
  • Took attendance for the course of Art History
  • Graded exams (multiple choice and short essays)
  • Assisted with on-site lectures in museums and churches