Graduating Senior Carson Hamilton Chosen for SITE Experience

A graduating senior in Italian, Carson Hamilton (Italian minor), has been selected for the Study Intercultural Training Experience (SITE) Fellowship, a prestigious international opportunity for recent U.S. graduates. Hamilton will spend the 2026-27 academic year in Gavirate, near Varese in Italy's Lombardy region, serving as an English-language teaching assistant in a local high school under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

"I am enthusiastic to embark on this teaching experience," Hamilton said, reflecting on the award. "After becoming the recruitment manager for the Italian Club, Il circolo italiano, I utilized my background as a journalist to facilitate avid communication. I truly believe this new adventure will not only aid my education after school but also build upon my current language skills. I couldn't have achieved this without the hard work and diligent effort of my teachers, instructors and professors that enabled me to embrace the language and culture of Italy."

The SITE Fellowship places recent U.S. graduates into Italian secondary schools as English-language teaching assistants, offering immersive professional and cultural training. Fellows gain hands-on classroom experience while deepening their intercultural competence and language skills through sustained engagement with Italian students, educators and communities. The program is supported by a consortium of U.S. universities in partnership with schools in the Lombardy region.

Since the U of A joined the SITE consortium in 2022, six students have been awarded this competitive fellowship. Among them is Olivia Parish (Italian minor), who has just returned after completing a successful year in Cremona as an English-language teaching assistant in a high school that focuses on art, fashion and violin making.

"I would not have been able to do any of this without obtaining my minor in Italian," Parish said. "Being in a smaller town required being proficient in Italian, and the connections and support I gained from my professors over the years were invaluable. It also helped me understand where the students were coming from, because many of their struggles were things I had dealt with while learning Italian. This understanding allowed me to help them learn better and improved my connection with them. Experiencing new cultures is something so valuable to me, and I am forever grateful that I was able to be a part of this program."

Congratulations to Parish on the completion of her fellowship year, and to Hamilton on this exciting opportunity to live and work in Italy.