Exploring Identity, Ecological Biodiversity and Cultural Connections in Central Italy

The Zekavat Family Summer Sabbatical Endowment was established at MFS in 1996 to encourage the faculty to engage in creative and challenging summer travel and study.  The sabbatical is meant to contribute to the rejuvenation and education of teachers and to permit them to pursue opportunities for personal growth and learning. Full-time faculty members who have served three years teaching at MFS are eligible. A key goal of the Sabbatical is to share the ideas, experiences and traditions from other cultures with students and faculty at MFS both inside and outside of the classroom. 

Upper School Science Teacher Trish Tate investigated her family’s roots in Central Italy and visited Italian libraries and archives. To prepare for her trip, she learned Italian and gathered information about the cultural and ecological history of Central Italy. Trish’s itinerary included the cities of Chieti, Rome, Florence, and Venice. She engaged with outdoor educational opportunities around the Abruzzo, Lazio, and Molise National Parks and collected data on endangered apennine chamois and marsican brown bear populations to evaluate with her AP Biology class. She sought to build relationships between MFS and local Italian schools, while also exploring service learning opportunities through historical Italian connections in Camden.

“I found in Italy a country that embraces community in a way that I have only ever felt at MFS. Being greeted by Val and Chuck at the front desk is the same as a stranger in a gelato shop in Florence exclaiming ’my blood!’ when they learned of my family connection to the city. Meeting a family of four on a train and exchanging addresses so that our daughters could be pen pals is the same joy as my Kindergartner writing to Mrs. Hilgen on the stationary her teachers made from her artwork. To me, Italy is family, community and connection, and so is MFS. I will use this as a lesson in intentionality and care when welcoming students in my classroom. This was the experience of a lifetime and I am so grateful to the Zekavat Family and to MFS for the opportunity.”