Student Spotlight on Libby Crecco, Greenheart Travel’s Correspondent in Italy

Greenheart Travel is excited to send a group of amazing high school students to language camps overseas as part of our 2016 Travel Correspondent Scholarship awards. To help introduce our inspiring writers, we will be doing a series of spotlight interviews to help you get to know a little more about who they are, where they will be headed and what inspired them to learn a new language abroad.

Read on to meet 14-year-old, Libby Crecco, our Greenheart Travel Correspondent from Clarkson, Nebraska who’ll be traveling to Florence for her summer language camp in Italy!

Favorite thing to do in your free time?

I like to read, listen to music, exercise, spend time with my pets, hang out with my friends, play sports, and watch movies.

Have you traveled abroad before?

Yes. I was lucky enough to travel Italy for 10 days with my school’s travel club last summer. Major stops were Venice, Florence & Rome.

What got you interested in learning Italian and traveling abroad?

My dad is an over-the-road trucker and I started taking trips with him when I was a toddler. Traveling the U.S. with him got me used to meeting people and seeing new things and ever since then I’ve loved to explore new places.

What are you most excited about experiencing during your language camp?

I can’t wait to meet my host family and learn from them. I know there’s no better way to learn Italian customs, language and points-of-view than to live with an Italian family. I’m also excited to have more time to experience the art and architecture of Florence.

Why do you feel it’s important to travel to a new place and learn a new language?

Lack of understanding, racism, and fear of the unknown are some of the biggest problems in this world right now. By not being afraid to travel, I think I can be an example for others and, hopefully, a teacher.

What are you nervous about?

I am most nervous about the thing I’m most excited about. I think staying with a host family will be one of the best things about this trip, but I am nervous about making mistakes and not being able to understand them.

How well do you speak Italian at this point?

I take Spanish at school and could probably find a bathroom and food in Spain.  I have been studying Italian with Rosetta Stone and I am not too good yet. I think living with my host family and taking classes with a native speaker will a great improvement on that.

How do you think you will change the most during your time abroad?

I think I’ll change most in ways I can’t imagine or expect, but if I had to guess, I think it will make me pay more attention to how and why we do the things we do at home. I know I will be doing a lot of comparing and contrasting and probably asking a lot of questions.

Libby Crecco is 14 years old and lives in Clarkson, Nebraska. Her goal during her language program in Florence, Italy is to “learn as much about Italian culture as I hope to learn about the language.” Follow Libby’s adventure in Italy on her weekly blog post updates.