Hello. My name is Serena.
I was born in 1985 in Conegliano, a hilly town in the North East of Italy. I spent my childhood [[playing]] with the kids of my neighborhood and reading tons of [[books]].
I wrote my first stories when I was 9. It was really just an excuse to be allowed to use my grandfather's Lettera 22.
It made me realize I enjoyed [[putting words together]].
After getting my high school diploma, I enrolled at [[university]]: faculty of foreign languages and literatures.
I also joined an amateur [[theatre]] company in my town.
I used to commute from Venice, where I had my classes, to Conegliano, where I still lived with my family.
In 2006 I decided to move to Venice.I loved playing "Let's [[pretend]]" and I particularly liked playing "the classroom": I would hold a piece of paper against the wall and start [[lecturing-->I gave it up]] the other kids, who had to pretend to be my students. Poor them.As I grew up, I kept reading and writing. I won a couple of prizes.
During high-school, I was editor-in-chief of the school paper. I was very proud of it.
Then, [[something]] happened ... I wrote and published a piece full of rage which upset many people.
Something was broken. My writing was no longer a place of creativity and peace, so [[I gave it up]].When I got my BA in Linguistics, I was also studying to be an [[actress]] and working part time in a glass shop in Venice.
I thought I was done with university but [[I was wrong]].I took part to a workshop at a theatre in Venice and was noticed by its artistic director. He offered me a place in the theatre's acting school.
[[I accepted->university]].When I was ten, my sister took me to the theatre for the first time to see "The two Venitian twins" by Carlo Goldoni.
While watching the show, I was sure there were two actors on stage. When my sister told it was only one man playing both characters I was shocked. That was [[magic]]! I started going to all the theatre shows in my town.
When I started [[high school-->I gave it up]], I applied to be part of the school theatre company. I studied and practiced on stage for three years. I performed in several plays and and acted in web and TV productions.
I loved acting but I could feel there was [[something missing-->I was wrong]] ... In 2009 I enrolled again at university to get a MA. Same faculty but different field specialisation: this time I went for [[Education]].
As I was studying for my MA, I started working as educator for children. All my creative and artistic skills were finally invested into creating beauty and at the same time making other people's lives better.
In October 2011 I got my MA and a few months later [[everything changed]].I was selected for a special program sponsored by my university and an Italo-Australian association for the promotion of the Italian language.
In the Spring of 2012, I left for [[Australia]].I moved to Echuca, a town in a rural area three hours North of [[Melbourne]], and I lived there for one year, [[teaching]] Italian in the local high school. One day, I was in Melbourne and I decided to go to a storytelling night. While I was listening to storyteller Niki na Meadhra, I could feel my whole body being transported away by her magic. I was so entranced that my mouth slowly opened and stayed like that, until I heard my friends laughing at me and poiting at my silly face.
After that night, I started [[studying performative storytelling]], while also continuing my [[teaching]] career. I decided to apply for a Fulbright scholarship, Foreign Language Teaching Assistant program.
I was backpacking through the Red Center when I received the email: [[I got it]].I spent the following academic year in the United States working as (link:"professor")[(gotoURL:"http://www.serenazampolli.com/teacher-educator")] of Italian in a university located in central Pennsylvania.
I started thinking the [[academic career]] might be a good fit for me.
Moreover, I took a class in creative writing and ... I started writing again. The (link:"storyteller")[(gotoURL:"http://www.serenazampolli.com/storyteller")] in me was awaken once again. I took part to workshops, read books, performed, helped organising events, learnt how to welcome guests and make them feel at home ...
And today I can say I am a (link:"storyteller")[(gotoURL:"http://www.serenazampolli.com/storyteller")]Once I was back in Italy, I applied for a PhD at the University of Genoa, the only one offering the PhD course I desired: Digital Humanities.
Through Digital Humanities, I would have been able to finally combine all my interest: storytelling, creativity, education, and technology.
My application was successful and today I am a PhD candidate and a (link:"researcher")[(gotoURL:"http://www.serenazampolli.com/researcher")].