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Love of languages: Padua Academy’s Rosa Iacono draws on upbringing when teaching Italian at her alma mater — Teacher feature

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Rosa Iacono of Padua Academy

WILMINGTON — Rosa Iacono was translating books from Italian to English when a friend told her there was a position open at Padua Academy. That was 25 years ago, and today, Iacono is in her second stint at Padua, which also happens to be her alma mater.

She teaches Italian and is making a difference in the lives of students the way her teachers did when she was there. (She graduated in 1994.) For that, Iacono was nominated for The Dialog’s Teacher Feature by junior Ava Gates.

In her nomination letter, Gates wrote that Iacono “understands that learning Italian has been a completely new experience for most of the students in her class. My experience in her class has been transformational because she has pushed me outside my comfort zone and to try new ways of learning and approaching my goals in Italian.

“I’ve been extremely lucky to have her as a teacher.”

Iacono did not set out to be a teacher while growing up in Wilmington’s Little Italy neighborhood. She attended St. Anthony of Padua School before Padua, then majored in foreign languages and literature at the University of Delaware. She really wasn’t sure what she wanted to do and was working at home for a publishing company. They would send her Italian books that needed to be translated.

As the daughter of immigrants, Italian was a familiar tongue for her.

“I grew up in a house that spoke primarily Italian, and also a neighborhood that, at that time, there was a lot of Italians in the neighborhood. It was kind of all I knew at the time,” she said.

The family belonged to St. Anthony’s, and Oblate Father Mario Bugliosi helped Iacono’s mother’s family when they came to the United States.

“He was someone who was close with my family, someone I have really fond memories of,” she said.

She has always had a love of languages and foreign culture.

“I just always loved the idea of seeing the world and traveling,” Iacono said. “When I came here as a student, I took Italian, and it really opened up a lot more about the literature and the art and all the things I love about the culture. It just opened my eyes that there’s this whole world out there that I wanted to see and be a part of.”

After working at Padua, Iacono, 48, spent time at St. John the Beloved School and Saint Mark’s High School before returning to Broom Street.

“Teaching here is really special for me. I feel really blessed to see Padua from both sides, as a student and as a teacher. The students are wonderful. We do have freedom in how we teach. It’s just been such a great experience,” she said.

As the lone Italian teacher, she often sees the same students for four years. Seeing their progression as students and people is “so rewarding. To see them grow in the language and as young women is really a great part of the job.”

With the focus in education on science and technology, she does her part to teach the importance of the arts and humanities. Art, music and literature are important but are sometimes overlooked, she said. Those disciplines can open up a student’s eyes to a different world and help them to think in a different way.

A resident of Pike Creek, Iacono remains a member of St. Anthony of Padua, where she portrayed Mary Magdalen in the Via Crucis for several years. She said she wants to finish her career in education at Padua.

“I love this school. I love what it stands for. I love the tradition. I love my students and colleagues, so I don’t see myself going anywhere else,” she said.

Iacono likes to travel when she has the opportunity. The south of Italy is probably her favorite destination. She also spends time with her nephews and niece, and she loves to dance. Growing up, she studied ballet and tap.