Italian Exchange Student Pampaloni enjoys East TN
From China to Spain, Morristown-West has hosted exchange students from across the world. This year, Morristown-West has a very special student from Italy. Ginevra Pampaloni is from the seaside town of Forte dei Marmi in Tuscany, Italy and is staying with fellow student Sydney Mendez for the 2026-2027 school year.
Ginevra has traveled across the world, and has been on all continents excluding Antarctica. Some of her favorite trips include Oman, Los Angeles, and the North Pole.
During the interview, she explained that traveling was very important to her family and commented that she has a twin sister who is currently doing an exchange year in Maine. Something she has yet to do is attend a concert, but she is excited to see Oasis on their 2027 Tour as they are her favorite band. Another of her favorite artists is Cesare Cremonini, who is a famous Italian pop singer.
In Forte dei Marmi, Ginevra attends a small school with only about three-hundred students spread across five grade levels. The school has the usual core subjects, but also offers courses such as Latin and Philosophy, which are not offered at West. Additionally, her school does not have a sports team specific to the school, so for sports students rely on leagues outside of the educational atmosphere. At West, Ginevra is currently taking English, Economics, Anatomy, and History. She runs Cross Country, and also plans on joining the tennis team as she has played tennis for six years.
In the future, Ginevra wants to attend a university in the United States, possibly Tennessee, and become a pediatric surgeon. She has always felt interested in subjects like biology and other sciences, and wants to use this interest to help others.
One of the things she likes most about Morristown is the sense of community she has felt here. She loves how everyone here greets each other, even people they don’t know, though she also likes how everyone already knows everyone else. She likes participating in the Trojan Train before the football games, and the student section while there. She said one of her favorite things was the pep rally, which is something they do not do at her school in Italy, partially as they do not have the same sense of school spirit there.
Something that she thinks Morristown lacks is the walkability and third-spaces of her hometown. These things were integral to her friendships and social life in Forte dei Marmi, and Morristown has not built them up quite the same. That being said, she loves Morristown and enjoys going to Morristown’s number of Mexican restaurants as they don’t quite have the same quesadillas in Italy, loves 7-Brew, and is excited to experience the American holiday season from Halloween to Christmas.
Additionally, she misses her family and two dogs a lot, but loves all of her new friends in Morristown and cannot wait to spend the rest of the year with them! She has a lot to look forward to and has already made a lot of friends. One thing that she would like everyone to know is that, “Italy is not a part of France, a lot of people have asked me about living in France and I would like them to know that they are not the same country.”
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