Where Are They Now? Focus on Four JCU English Literature Alumni
John Cabot University decided to catch up with some recent English Literature graduates to see what they are doing.
Giorgio Maria Millesimi, Class of 2019
Giorgio Maria Millesimi
Giorgio Maria Millesimi is from Rieti, Italy. He graduated from JCU with a major in English literature and a minor in Classical Studies. In his undergraduate dissertation, he examined the way in which Paolo Cognetti, winner of the acclaimed Strega Prize, adapted tropes of American literature in his novel The Eight Mountains. Giorgio has been accepted to pursue a MLitt in Comparative Literature at St. Andrews University where he would like to continue his research in Anglo-Italian literary relationships. Studying at JCU has greatly enriched Giorgio. He says that “being able to study literature in such a fascinating and intellectually challenging environment as JCU opened up my mind and made me appreciate the beauty of literature more than I had done before. The English department always stimulated me to pursue my interests and encouraged me to follow my dream of becoming a college professor.” Besides literature, Giorgio is passionate about foreign languages, traveling, and discovering new cultures.
Marialaura Grandolfo, Class of 2017
Marialaura Grandolfo
Marialaura Grandolfo is from Bari, Italy. She graduated from JCU with a major in English Literature and a minor in Communications. Her undergraduate dissertation, which examined the relationship between the caregiving dynamic and the self in the fiction of Virginia Woolf, introduced her to the potential of interdisciplinarity. Currently, she is studying an interdisciplinary MLitt in Contemporary Studies at St Andrews University. She is interested in the use of narrative across disciplines and in the relational self. When not studying, she bakes, tries her hand at poetry and complains about Scottish weather.
Mattia Maglione
Mattia Maglione, Class of 2017
Mattia Maglione, who is from Rome, Italy, is currently at Trinity College, Dublin working on his MPhil. in Children’s Literature. After completing his B.A thesis on Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz at John Cabot, he is now focusing on the Nonsense poetry of Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll. His graduate work involves a case by case study of how folktales and books directed at children have impacted our understanding of the world. He plans to pursue his doctoral studies in America after completing his Master’s degree in Ireland.
Victor Xavier Zarour Zarzar, Class of 2014
Victor Xavier Zarour Zarzar
After graduating from John Cabot University, Victor Xavier Zarour Zarzar, who is from Mexico, received a full scholarship for a Ph.D. and post-doctoral studies in Comparative Literature at The Graduate Center, CUNY. In November 2018 he defended his doctoral dissertation on the novels of Elena Ferrante, under the supervision of Nancy K. Miller and Giancarlo Lombardi. He writes: “Graduate school has been an intense, rewarding experience that I could not have possibly been ready for had it not been for the help of my professors at JCU. I look forward to the next step of my academic career: in the fall of 2019, I will begin a two-year postdoctoral program at CUNY, as part of the Humanities Fellowship, and will also be going on the job market.”
