school year abroad
Pre-departure 2012
FACULTY AND STAFF: SYA Italy
Patrick Scanlon (Resident Director) begins his eighth year as Resident Director in Viterbo
where he taught English and served as college counselor from 2002-2004. After graduating Phi
Beta Kappa from the University of New Mexico in 1986 with a double major in biology and
English, Pat spent three years teaching English and perfecting his Italian language skills in
Milan, Florence and Crans su Sierre, Switzerland. While teaching chemistry, general science
and English at Albuquerque Academy in the 16 years that followed, Pat earned his M.A. in
liberal studies from St. John’s College (NM) in 1994 and enjoys passing on that classical
education to his SYA students. While at Albuquerque Academy, he performed myriad
administrative duties and coached nationally-ranked swimming teams.
At SYA, prior to his appointment to Resident Director, he taught a literature and
composition course that took full advantage of being in a country that has contributed so
much to the thinking and development of the Western World. He very much enjoys
coordinating curriculum, especially with the rich and valuable excursions of SYA’s mission.
An avid athlete, Pat spends some of his time working out in the pool, pruning his olive trees,
experiencing la dolce vita with his wife and children, and sharing his affectionate sense of place
with SYA students. Both Pat and his wife, Linda Bartolucci Scanlon, have many relatives in
Italy. All of their four children attend school in Viterbo.
Roberta Baroncini (Administrative Assistant) is a native of Viterbo and graduated from the
Liceo Linguistico “Merlini” in 1981. Two years later she moved to England where she attended
the University of Liverpool to specialize in Foreign Language teaching. After initially
working in banking, she taught Italian as a Foreign Language at Southport College until 2002
when she moved back to Viterbo where she began working for SYA as a part-time Italian
teacher. In 2003 she became a full time member of the SYA staff, teaching one course of
Italian and serving as the school’s administrative assistant. Roberta is now the full time
administrative assistant and works closely with Mr. Scanlon to oversee the entire program.
David Lutchner (Extracurricular Coordinator) is a native of Southport, England. In 2002
Dave sold his business and moved to Italy with his wife, Roberta, and son. In 2005 he started
working for SYA as the co-curricular coordinator. Dave is the link between our students and
the Italian world outside the school as he organizes after-school activities as well as cultural
and social events. His never-ending energy and engaging personality allow him to reach into
many areas of the Viterbo Community to find opportunities for our students and keep SYA
in the public eye. When not engaged in SYA-related activities, he enjoys music, cooking and
relaxing with his family.
Eleonora Trucca (Host Family Coordinator) was born in Romanshorn, Switzerland but
grew up in Italy, in the town of Bagnoregio just 30 km from Viterbo, where she later earned a
Certificate of Education at Liceo Linguistico. Eleonora moved to Viterbo in 1995 and has been
hosting SYA students since 2002. Eleonora began working for SYA in 2005 as the host family
coordinator. What she loves most is to travel and come into contact with new cultures.
Together with her husband, Marco, and daughter, Camilla, she has visited parts of America,
Asia, Africa and Europe. Eleonora is also the Summer Program Coordinator at SYA Italy.
Stephen Allen (English teacher) came of age in New Jersey, went to college in Pennsylvania
at Franklin & Marshall College and attended graduate school at Colgate. His first teaching
job was in New York in the public school system. After six years he tried his hand in private
education, landing at Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico. His heroes and influences are
various and many; of grit and blood and sometimes fictional. Today he counts Bob Dylan,
Mozart, John Cheever, Gandalf and Derek Jeter among his heroes. Steve never played second
base for the Yankees, but he has thoroughly enjoyed teaching writing, literature, and language
for the past 28 years at Albuquerque Academy. With English in-laws, Steve has visited Europe
many times with his wife Pamela, but most of their journeys away from the Isles have taken
them to northern Europe. While on sabbatical in 2004-05, Steve wrote with the MFA
candidates in creative writing at the University of New Mexico, and he plans to keep a long
Italian journal to see what may develop.
Katia Delle Monache (Italian Teacher) graduated with a degree in modern languages from
Tuscia University, majoring in English, with French as a second language. Upon receiving her
degree, she traveled to Siena to attend a training course at the Dante Alighieri Association for
teaching Italian to foreign students. Ms. Delle Monache then returned to Viterbo to teach
Italian to American students coming from the United States with their parents at the Dante
Alighieri Association. She also teaches Italian for a group of American University beginners.
She holds a Master’s in teaching Italian Language and Culture to Foreigners from l’universita’
Ca’ Foscari di Venezia. Her passion for teaching Italian has led her to open an Italian language
and culture school for foreigners in Viterbo together with other colleagues where she worked
for 4 years. This is Ms. Delle Monache’s eighth year at School Year Abroad.
Carolyn Hilles-Pilant (College Counselor) is in her second year at SYA Italy, having come
from SYA Japan. Carolyn has held positions as a Library Director, an English teacher, an
academic advisor, a coach, a dormitory supervisor and an admissions reader at various points
throughout her independent school and post-secondary school career, most recently at The
Wheeler School (RI) and previously at The Hotchkiss School (CT). She holds a B.S. in
History from Manchester College, an M.A. in English from Purdue University, and an M.S.
in Library & Information Science from the University of Illinois. She is active as an editor and
school evaluator with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges both
domestically and internationally. Her husband Keith’s former positions with SYA have taken
her to Rennes and Zaragoza as well as Ichinomiya, and she has also lived in Hong Kong and in
Scotland as a Schoolteacher Fellow in the Admissions Office at the University of St. Andrews.
Yvonne Mazurek (Art History Teacher) grew up in a family of first-generation Polish
immigrants in Chicago. Her first study-abroad experience was a junior year in high school
spent in southern France, followed by a summer at Jagiellonian University in Krakow,
Poland. She began college at NYU where she focused intensely on the modern art resources of
Manhattan, then transferred to University of Chicago to consolidate her education with the
Great Books. What struck her the most was the timeless relevance of the Greek philosophers,
Etruscan banqueters and Roman governors. Hence, she moved to Etruria where she is
delighted to have taught art history at SYA for the past ten years. She looks forward to
completing her Masters degree in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage in 2012-13 from the
University
Santo Sammartino (History Teacher) begins his tenth year teaching ancient history at SYA
Italy; he also teaches a second-semester course in Italian civilization (in Italian). He holds a
Master's degree in comparative literature and another one in art history from Tuscia
University, and his study-abroad experience includes a semester at the University of San
Francisco, a year at the Stevenson College (Edinburgh) where he also taught Italian, a year at
Caen University (Normandy) and a semester at Paris 7 University. Mr. Sammartino is an
invaluable resource when it comes time to plan SYA trips; for seven years he took groups of
American students on school breaks to Italy, France, England, Spain and Greece with EF
Tours, specializing in groups focused on art history appreciation. Mr. Sammartino published
his first novel, Working Holidays!, to great critical acclaim and is always working on other
writing projects.
Amy Turner (Latin Teacher) joins SYA for a second year from East Longmeadow High
School in western Massachusetts where she taught Latin. Previously, she taught at New
Canaan Country School (New Canaan, CT) and the Derryfield School (Manchester, NH).
Amy has an A.B. in Classics from Bowdoin College and an M.A.T. in Latin and Classical
Humanities from UMASS Amherst. Amy’s first trip overseas occurred at the age of two,
when she was left in the care of her grandparents in Germany while her parents toured Great
Britain. She has been travelling ever since, including spending a semester in Rome while in
college. A lover of all things Italian, she enjoys introducing her students to Italy on trips that
she leads every other year. When she’s not travelling, she enjoys biking, knitting and zipping
around town on her red Vespa accompanied by her stylishly dressed Chihuahua, Diesel.
Warren Turner (Math Teacher) joins SYA for a second year from Westfield State University
in Western Massachusetts where he has taught both physics and chemistry. Previously, he
held a variety of positions at both the high school and college level including teaching at The
Harpeth Hall School (Nashville, TN), St. Paul’s School (Concord, NH), and The Brunswick
School (Greenwich, CT). Warren has earned an A.B. in physics and mathematics from
Bowdoin College and both an S.M. and Ph.D. in applied physics from Harvard University.
His love of travel lay undiscovered until his first trip to Italy in 1996. Now he travels at every
opportunity, visiting a dozen countries in the last three years alone. For the past 13 years,
Warren has served as a coach of the United States Physics Team preparing high school
students to compete in the International Physics Olympiad. When not biking, hiking and
otherwise sampling the sights, he can be found indulging his passions for chocolate and gettoni
telefonici.
Alessandra Tuzi, a native of Viterbo, graduated from Tuscia University and taught in a local
high school. She began working for SYA Italy in March 2001, and for several years she was
directly in charge of host families and extracurricular activities. She also served as the school’s
secretary. In 2005 she returned to teaching, with sections of Italian language I and In addition
to teaching, she loves reading, cooking and going to the cinema. She holds a Master’s in
teaching Italian Language and Culture to Foreigners from l’universita’ Ca’ Foscari di Venezia.
Keith Hilles-Pilant (part-time Mathematics Teacher) came to SYA from Milton Academy,
where he had been teaching math for twenty-four years. Keith has served SYA three times
before, in France, Spain and Japan and has founded programs for gifted math students in
Hong Kong and at the Clay Mathematics Institute in Cambridge, MA. He holds an A.B. from
Princeton University and an M.S. from the University of Illinois, both in mathematics. He
has been a Klingenstein Fellow at Columbia University, a Schoolteacher Fellow at the
University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and is currently associated with the PROMYS
mathematics program at Boston University. Keith plays the violin, speaks French as a second
language and has also studied Spanish and German.