Fashion Students and Franklin
The first few seconds at the table were awkward until someone blurted out, “Come ti chiami?” Slowly the nervous Swiss girl replied, “My name is Valeria.” The students seated around the Grotto table smiled, relaxed, and began to introduce themselves.
On Wednesday, January 18, 2006, students from the “STA - Technical Engineering School for Clothing and Fashion Lugano,” (“Scuola specializzata superiore di tecnica dell'abbigliamento e della moda di Lugano” in Italian) visited Franklin with their teacher, Tatiana Ranzoni, to interview Franklin students and practice their budding English. Ms. Ranzoni taught English at Franklin during the 2000 - 2001 school year, and knew Franklin provided a great resource for her students to practice their English.
Although the whole Franklin student body had been invited to meet the STA students, only a small group of students were in the Grotto at 5 PM prepared to be interviewed. After a brief introduction from Tatiana Ranzoni, the Franklin students were divided into three groups: Culture, Fashion, and the Future. In each group, STA students tape-recorded their questions and the responses given by those from Franklin. Questions ranged from “Who is your favorite fashion designer?” to “What was your first impression of Switzerland?” The results of the interview will be published in a glossy magazine created by a school related to STA that specializes in graphic design.
Overall, the students enjoyed getting to know each other. The interviews were often forgotten, and instead of asking the questions already prepared, the students quizzed each other about where they were from, what clubs they like to go to, and other non-academic queries. Dean Starcher was glad to see that Franklin students took the opportunity to meet the fashion students and more events are being planned with STA during this spring semester.
For more information about STA, their website <http://www.sta.ti.ch/STA/> can be viewed in Italian, English, French, and German.