This week we had the enormous pleasure of welcoming a true champion of experiential learning and member of the Syracuse Board of Trustees, Mike Venutolo (class of ’77), to the Villa Rossa.
Mike and his wife Kim, both of whom proudly come from blue-collar backgrounds, have made it their mission to preach the life-changing benefits of study abroad, strongly encouraging students to prepare themselves for the workforce by “getting their hands dirty.” The Venutolos spent 30 years working between the Gulf region and London, England, before shifting their focus to philanthropy work in the US by supporting Syracuse students to get hands-on experience at home and abroad.
Considering their longtime familiarity with Syracuse University’s premises in London, people have long assumed the Venutolos were also familiar with our program here in Italy. But they had never been. “Kim said to me it’s about time we visit Florence,” Mike laughed sheepishly as we welcomed them to the villa.
They told us about their experience bringing some 30 Syracuse students over the years to the Gulf region on a two-week engineering internship program that they spearheaded. “Students were surprised when we asked for their shoe size ahead of time,” explained Mike. “It was for the steel-toed boots they would be wearing while on the ground.” Kim laughed at the memory. “We were not going to be spending our time in some university lecture hall!” When they did visit a university in Saudi Arabia, KFUPM, Kim and two student interns were the first women to have ever stepped onto the premises.
Because of their backgrounds and passions, they appreciate the fact that there are still so many small businesses in Italy, including shops in which artisans continue to practice age-old trades and, significantly, pass on their manual, technical skills to new generations.
While Mike went abroad right after graduating from Syracuse with a civil engineering degree, Kim didn’t leave the US until she was 40 years old. “It changed who I was,” she said. And it turned her into an ardent advocate for study abroad. “It opens you up, you see everything differently.”
As one of the only “international” board members, Mike feels a responsibility to help Syracuse students experience the world. “Home will always be there,” Kim says to students. “And you might not get another chance like this.”
We hope this visit to Florence will not be their last.
Read more about the Venutolos’ philanthropy work for Syracuse here.