Campus News

Who is Ivana Di Siena?

April 29, 2021

Yvonne Gay

A portrait of a woman.
Ivana Di Siena, Italian instructor.
Photo credit: Jennifer Manna

Students in Ivana Di Siena’s Italian language classes are familiar with Meatloaf, but do you know why? Find out in this installment of Who Am I?

 

Job title and department: Italian Instructor in the French and Italian Department located in Peters Hall.

What does your job entail? I teach Italian at all levels and I sponsor private readings and Winter Term projects on all subjects: language, literature, cinema, history, art, politics, travel, culture, geography, pop culture, opera, Italian-American culture, etc. My specialties are Italian cinema and contemporary history. This semester I offer Italian 101, Italian 102, and Italian 204.

How long have you been at Oberlin? I have been teaching at Oberlin for 22 years. My first semester at Oberlin was in the Spring of 1999, when I was hired to teach one class. I teach five classes per year now.

Hobbies or personal interests? I love to cook! I like hiking, reading, watching movies, and spoiling my cat, Meatloaf. Meatloaf is the mascot of my classes and my students follow his adventures during the semester. I also play soccer with my students, but not since fall 2019 :-(

Nickname(s)? I am known simply as professoressa.

Favorite food? My favorite foods are rapini and persimmons.

Favorite Quote? One of my favorite quotes is a Japanese proverb: "Even monkeys fall from trees."  

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