Camilla, aged 17, has been a student at Moscrop since September and will be staying until the end of January. An accomplished and talented volleyball player, Camilla joined the Moscrop Senior Girls Volleyball team and has led the team to important tournament wins. Moscrop Senior Girls Volleyball team competes in the AAAA Tier. (Tiers are based on the school population numbers. AAAA includes schools with over 251 girls in grades 11 and 12). Camilla was recently chosen as the Moscrop Athlete of the Month.
While Camilla recently suffered a shoulder injury and was off the volleyball court for 3 weeks, she is optimistic that she will be back on the team for the BC Provincial Volleyball Championships (November 30 – December 2). Here is an interview with Camilla – and stay tuned for the Moscrop Volleyball Provincial results where Moscrop will compete with 15 other BC high school teams at the 2017 Big Kahuna AAAA Provincial Championships!
Q: What made you decide to come to Canada and study in Burnaby?
A: I wanted to learn English. I wanted to meet new people. I don’t like routines and habits and I wanted to have a new experience and see another country.
Q: How has school been different here compared to your school in Italy?
A: School in Italy is harder. It is also more specialised in the higher grades. At age 14, after middle school, you go into specialised schools. You can go into a school that specialises in sciences, and take chemistry, biology and calculus. Others focus on languages or arts. I have enjoyed taking things here at Moscrop that I wouldn’t be able to take at home, such as Food Science, where everyone works together to produce something.
Q: What has your homestay been like?
A: I think I am one of the luckiest people here. My homestay Mum is always there for me. She worries about me. The food is good.
Q: How do you get to school each day?
A: I walk. It takes 5 minutes.
Q: Did you play volleyball back home in Italy?
A: I have been playing volleyball since the age of ten. In Italy, football (soccer) is more of a men’s sport. Volleyball is a very popular sport for girls. I played at a high level, and then two years ago in 2015 I got a knee injury so now I play level “B” not “A” in Italy. A difference in Italy is that sports are played through clubs, not the school itself.
Camilla’s jersey number is #21. (back row, third person from the right)
Q: Tell us about your experiences with the Moscrop Senior Girls Volleyball team.
A: I am the only international student on the senior team so it has been great to play with these girls and been great for improving my English. We won a tournament in Burnaby on October 12-13. Moscrop won first place and I was voted the MVP. I also won the Star award at the UBCO tournament and Moscrop won second place there.
Q: Did you know what to expect when you came here in terms of the weather/clothing and what to bring?
A: Friends of mine told me not to bring anything fancy. It is a lot more casual here so I didn’t bring anything special.
Q: What is your best memory from your time here?
I have great memories of being with my teammates. There are about 20 of us approximately and we are really close. I am going to ask them if they will all sign my Canada flag for me to take back home.
Q: What are your future career plans?
A: I want to go to law school to become a lawyer or a judge.
Q: Do you think you will come back here in the future?
A: I would love to. I would like to bring my parents here to see where I lived for five months.
Q: Would you recommend studying in Burnaby to people back home in Italy?
A: Obviously, yes. It has been a great experience.
Interview with Camilla DiVito: Moscrop International Student from Italy Share on XThanks Camilla. Good luck to you and the Moscrop Senior Girls Volleyball team at the provincials this weekend!
