Richie Catalano '09
Richie Catalano
Where are you currently located, and what are you up to?
Over the past few years, I have lived and worked in the People's Republic of China in Xi’an (home to the world famous terracotta warriors) and Nanjing; however, I am currently located in Shenzhen where I teach AP US History, World History, Geography, Art History, Debate, Physical Education, and ESL 3 to Chinese high school students who are planning to attend university in the United States. I also help prepare them for life abroad. I have designed and created the curriculum for my classes based upon the NYS High School Curriculum.
What are your immediate future plans?
I will be leaving China in May 2014 to come back to Fredonia (I am from Fredonia). My future plans at the moment are to attend Hofstra School of Law in New York City in Fall 2014 and study immigration/international law, as well as constitutional law. I hope to work for the State Department or Department of Justice dealing with immigration and international law. I also plan to keep travelling around the world. Immersing yourself in another culture is completely life changing and I suggest everyone does it. Those experiences have already been helpful to me in such a short time. There is so much to see in the world.
How did you become interested in history?
I became interested in history at a very young age because of my family. My dad is a history teacher at the high school level, but the biggest influence was taking long family trips during the summer vacation across America and really seeing and learning about my country. Going to professional baseball games, visiting museums, and seeing some of the most beautiful landscapes one can see in the world developed my passion for history. My history teachers in middle and high school were also amazing, and their influence played a large part in fueling my passion for history.
How did Fredonia’s Department of History prepare you for your current work/future plans?
The Fredonia Department of History has done a lot to prepare me. Since I am currently a history teacher, it is kind of important I know something about history! Fredonia gave me a great history education; the professors were brilliant and I learned so much from them. All the professors were willing to help anyone who asked. Because of the Fredonia History Department, I have become an excellent researcher and this will serve me greatly when I attend law school and become a lawyer. It also helped that a few of my professors were sticklers for grammar, so my writing skills improved immensely under their supervision!
What advice do you have for incoming freshmen to our program?
My advice for incoming freshman entering the History Department would be: do not procrastinate; utilize your professors’ office hours; and participate during class. Much of this sounds obvious, but if you take this advice, your history classes will actually become much easier, and receiving a high grade should be no problem. I realized this during my sophomore year. Here's an example to show what I mean: I took an upper level history class in my junior year and I had trouble thinking of a topic. I went to see my professor who gave me advice on what I could write my paper on. I wrote the paper two months before it was due and then gave it to my professor to look over. He proofread my draft and told me to add a few things to make it perfect. It only took me a couple of hours to make the changes. The end result was I earned an ‘A’ on the paper, and my professor even told me it was of publishable quality. Furthermore, because it was done so early, I could breathe a little bit easier towards the end of the semester!