Rosa Palumbo '25
This school year brought many new teachers. As we entered our second month of school, we learned more about our new teachers. One teacher, in particular, has taken us by surprise.
Mr. Foppiani is not only a Spanish teacher, but he also is an outstanding tennis player. Speaking as one of the members of the Fontbonne Tennis team, I've seen him play and I was blown away!
He started playing tennis at 12 years old, following in his sister's footsteps. From there on he knew he “would be playing tennis for a long time.” He also had some experience playing baseball, which helped him realize and develop his love for tennis even more.
“Basically I was a baseball player, and then I realized the balls were traveling very fast and I got really scared of the ball. So I was kind of looking for a new sport, and tennis had the same hand-eye coordination, and I really liked when I had the racquet in my hand and it felt really comfortable. So it was kind of a transition from baseball.”
That was a great example of how other sports can help lead into many other opportunities and interests you may not have seen coming your way, and Mr. Foppiani helped demonstrate that.
Other than sports, Mr. Foppiani also touched upon his experience at Fontbonne so far. In all, he's very happy and satisfied with his experience with Fontbonne.
“I really like it. I feel like it's a very friendly environment, people are very courteous and it's a really good atmosphere for studying. And the social environment for the girls is really great. So it's been having a great impression on me so far.”
One important factor about Fontbonne is the traditions we hold. So I asked Mr. Foppiani what Fontbonne traditions he’s most excited for.
Fontbonne Halloween is a tradition that Mr. Foppiani is very excited about it. At Fontbonne everyone, including teachers and staff, dresses up in very creative, or simple costumes and competes against each other. I’ve only experienced one Fontbonne Halloween (with COVID-19 regulations). So speaking for me and the other students in my grade, we are very excited for this year's Fontbonne Halloween. This tradition is coming up very soon, and we are very excited and can’t wait to see what this year brings.
“I’m always asking my FA what traditions are, I'm always incorporating Fontbonne traditions in my lessons. It's kind of a way of making the lessons more interactive and relevant to the targeted age group… So if I had to pick one well, let's do the one that's coming up now. Let's say ‘Fontbonne Halloween.’”
Mr. Foppiani is from Bay Ridge, went to Regis High School in Manhattan, and afterward Stony Brook University. He took a “long train ride” to get back and forth from school every day.
Mr. Foppiani wishes he played high school tennis. Unfortunately, Regis High School didn’t have a good sports program, but like he said, “life works out different ways,” which led him to being a tennis coach at Xavier High School in Manhattan.
All in all, I’m so happy I got this opportunity to learn more about Mr. Foppiani and his life outside of Fontbonne.
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