I arrived at John Cabot with six years of experience in the Italian film industry as an actor. I came to John Cabot University with the intention of getting a degree in English literature to improve my written English and acquire some tools in creative writing. I got so much more than that.
The courses in the English Literature department showed me a world of literary imagination: extremely prepared professors provided me with an abundance of stimulating concepts and ideas, while simultaneously teaching me how to construct valid arguments to support them. The vast but necessary amount of reading required proved to be an encouragement to read even more, and discussions in class convinced me of the importance of sharing ideas and dialogue. In brief, John Cabot has been (and still is!) a well of culture for me.
However, this is only part of the story: this very same environment also helped me develop the confidence necessary to, quite literally, turn my inspiration into reality. Without the tools and the support offered by professors of literature and creative writing, I would not have gathered the courage necessary to start writing seriously.
In these very days, I am on stage with a play called “Loose Ends,” which I have written. The show is enjoying great success, and I feel like I owe it also to John Cabot University. This achievement, which seemed impossible to me up until a couple of years ago, is a direct consequence of the experiences I had at John Cabot in the past two years, and it is only the beginning. I have many more dreams I hope will come true: I want to experiment with other forms of writing – especially screenwriting – and I want to become a film director. Nevertheless, I am also eager to see what is in store for me in my last year at John Cabot University: who knows where two more semesters will take me!
Jacopo Olmo Antinori
Class of 2020
English Literature major
Hometown: Rome
