Few people can captivate a room and make learning a new language more

memorable and enjoyable than Enrico Cecconi.

Cecconi is an Italian professor at Accademia Europea di Firenze, the Elon Centers
partner university in Florence, Italy. Since the fall of 2008, when the Elon program
began, students have been drawn to Cecconis dynamic personality and his
indescribable excitement and desire to teach.

Enrico came into class each day excited and ready, said junior Alex Zubak. I have
never had a professor who is so enthusiastic about his job and invested in his
students success.

Cecconi was born and raised in Empoli, a small town 30 minutes by train from
Florence. He has lived in Empoli for most of his life; he commuted to the University
of Pisa when he was in school, and now commutes into Florence every day for work.

When he was 22 and studying at the University of Pisa, Cecconi decided to study
abroad in the United Kingdom at Cardiff University in Wales for a year. It was then
when he realized he enjoyed living abroad and upon completing his exams and
thesis, he got a job teaching at Cardiff University in 2004 as an Italian language
professor.

In 2008 he moved back to Florence and began working with Elon University when
the first group of study abroad students came to the center that fall.

Florence is a good city for teaching Italian because there are so many tourists and
students, Cecconi said. I think that the Accademia quite appreciated the fact that I
knew the language well and it was useful in case of any problems with the students.

Since there is no language requirement for Elon students going to Florence, many
arrive in Italy having no experience in writing, reading or speaking Italian. This can
be intimidating, which is why Cecconi said he tries to create a friendly atmosphere
that makes students feel at ease and not embarrassment about speaking a new
language.

This teaching style has worked wonders for many students, one example being Ted
Russell, who studied abroad in fall 2012.

Ive never had a better teacher in my life, Russell said. I enjoyed going to class. I
looked forward to his lessons with his high energy and enthusiastic teaching style,
and I learned more in one semester of Italian than I have ever learned in any
language class.

Although Cecconi had been with the Elon program for nine semesters, he only got to
visit the Elon campus for the first time the week of April 1, 2013. He said that he had
heard so much about the campus he could practically see it and that is why it was
such a wonderful experience exploring the campus and seeing old friends when he
visited.

Being at Elon has been a moment of great joy because Ive been seeing so many
people I care about, Cecconi said. Its been amazing to see so many students from
so many different semesters all at once.

Cecconi has traveled to the United States twice before. He visited New York City and
Boston on one trip and Chicago on another, but would love to travel more in the
futurepossibly back to Elon. While he was at Elon he met with former and future
students, as well as had meetings with faculty and staff.

I would love to experience being a visiting professor in a campus in America, he
said. I would love to be here at Elon for a possible exchange and to create a direct
connection between the program in Florence and Elon.

Until then, Cecconi says he loves his job and enjoys what he is doing. Being close to
his family and the town he grew up in is extremely important to him, and he
remains closely connected to his family and Italian heritage.

No matter where he ends up in the future, however, he is bound to touch more
students lives.

My favorite part of teaching is the beautiful kind of relationship I manage to have
with my students, Cecconi said. Every single semester there is something special
about each group and I have good memories with everyone really.

The connection is mutual if you ask any of Cecconis students.

Enrico is an amazing professor and person, Zubak said. He always went above
and beyond what was expected of him.

Russell summarizes the students feelings about Cecconi perfectly,When Elon
students talk about what they miss most about being abroad, Enrico is at the top of
the list.