Prospective Students

" I've been 2 years at CCI and I’m going for my 3rd year. CCI has been the most amazing and life changing experience for me. Like every beginning, at first it was hard. It was hard adapting to a new lifestyle and being around unfamiliar faces but it was so worth it at the end. I got to meet so many people and learned so many new things. Moving away from home and being independent helps you discover things you may have never known about yourself. CCI gave me lifelong friends that I will always be in touch with. We created a family and an unbreakable bond between each other. CCI has definitely been an eye opening experience and I recommend it to anyone that wants an amazing experience which helps you grow academically, socially and culturally."

"When I am asked years from now to speak of my fondest memories of life so far, CCI will come to mind most certainly. Coming here not knowing a soul and never visiting Italy, I was terrified. Boarding school was something I had only seen in movies and I was completely unsure of the experience that was ahead of me. Within the first week, I had already seen sites and met friends I would never forget. I am forever grateful for having the opportunity to attend and graduate from such an excellent school. I will never forget to thank my parents for this experience, and everything they have done for me to be happy. I am also extremely thankful to all the friends I have met here. Never in my life have I been surrounded by so many amazing people. Thank you to every person I met for changing my life and thank you CCI! Every time I think of Lanciano, I will smile."

"The best decision I have ever made was coming to CCI. It was an experience that changed my life forever, because of the things I learned, the friendships I made, and the memories that I will keep for the rest of my life. Without a doubt it was the best semester of my life. I hope we see each other soon!"

CCI gave me the opportunity to chase my dreams. Here, I met friendly people and exceptional friends. I shared with them precious moments. I attended interesting, stimulating classes and every morning, coming to CCI, I felt the same excitement and enthusiasm of the first day of school. I would not have achieved my goals and felt rewarded at night before sleeping, without all the extraordinary people who allowed me to travel this unique adventure, helping, supporting, and believing in me.

"It is hard living away from home, and not knowing the kind of people you are going to meet. In the beginning you feel guarded and unable to trust people right away. After spending a year together; and realizing we are all on this journey together we have formed many bonds between each other. We have learned to trust and experience things together. I keep thinking about a famous Jackie Chan quote, “Family isn’t whose blood you carry it’s who you love and who loves you.” These bonds that have formed have become less like friends and more like family. CCI is unlike any school in that we have the opportunity to form bonds with all students. It doesn’t seem to matter if we are at different grade levels or where we grew up. At regular high school you usually only converse with your own grade level. I have enjoyed my year with my new family at CCI!"

"I'm very grateful to CCI for all the opportunities that they gave me in these 3 years. I have met several wonderful people in this school that helped me to grow up, and I hope they will always be beside me during the path of my life. Now that it's over it seems like yesterday when I just arrived without talking to anybody because I couldn't understand a word. This school is being very meaningful to me not only for the friends that I have made but even for the hope, strength and support that gave me to set my goals and ambitions and I feel ready to exceed any other challenge that I will face during my life."

“I compare my boarding school experience to that of my peers at high school in Ontario, and find few similarities. Although we all completed four years of Ontario curriculum, I know that my education here at CCI has been largely outside the classroom. I discovered an interest in classics, for example, not because of a video we watched in classical civilizations class, but by visiting the ancient ruins of Rome. I learned to speak a new language not only by reading from a grammar textbook, but by conversing with the Italian locals. At some point, I learned to accept myself for who I am, as I was accepted by others from around the world, becoming a member of the CCI family. The relationship between students at this school is unlike that of any other high school; we add to each other’s lives in a way that we cannot begin to explain to others who have not journeyed with us here. Our mutual experiences connect each and every one of us together. We will share these experiences when this moment is a distant memory.”

“I have had the great fortune to make wonderful friendships; I have experienced so many unforgettable adventures with my friends that have left an undeletable mark in my heart. Living with students that come from different parts of the planet and who bring with them stories of such diversity is simply priceless. This school has taught me many things; how to be independent and to live away from home. Before coming to CCI, I was totally a different person, only now do I realize how much I have changed.”

“We share our culture, our personalities, our habits and our faults; this creates such intense friendships that we all become a large family of brothers and sisters. The chance to have such an experience at such a young age has no price tag. This year, not only did a learn academically but I learned an enormous amount about myself”

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born".

These beautiful words by Anais Nin describe the enrichment and sometimes surprise that you feel, when you gain a new friend. At CCI, by spending every moment with each other, we inevitably get to know even those who we didn't believe to share many similarities with at first. With our friends from CCI, we share memories of Italy that we don't ever want to forget. In one way we love these friends so much because they went through what we went through...but they are even more special than that. They are people that we likely would not have gotten to know had we met them in a different place. But with time, by realizing that we share a way of being with each other, these friends reveal to us parts and ways of our own, that we might not have known we had within ourselves. That is how a new world is born at CCI.

"In one year at CCI I have had four roommates, six school trips, countless cappuccinos, and more unforgettable memories than most people make in a lifetime. Coming to CCI from my home on Vancouver Island was a huge leap of faith, I had to leave behind friends, family, and security and hope for the best when I arrived in Italy, but it was comforting to know that everyone was going through the same thing I was. I didn’t know it when I first arrived in the airport but the people I met there, milling around awkwardly, searching for their luggage, would become some of my closest friends. This was nearly ten months ago, the start of my grade twelve year, and I am so grateful for my experience at CCI. I don’t think there is anywhere else in the world where a person can learn so much about themselves in less then a year, or see so much of Italy while still attending high school. A major part of the allure of CCI is its setting, in Italy, and the promise of school trips that take you all around the country, Florence, Venice, the Amalfi coast to name a few. These trips are the backbone of the CCI experience, the hours spent in transit offer unrivalled bonding time with your friends and classmates, and the destination never fails to impress. Because of CCI I now know that the things that scare us the most, the things that require the biggest leap of faith, are the most rewarding and unforgettable".

"My two years at CCI have truly been the experience of a lifetime. No one is cast into the shadows at CCI not only because it is a small school, but because there is opportunity for everyone to do things that can’t be done at bigger schools. Within two years I was able to sing on many occasions and have had the chance to bring my education level up to high standards. The teachers that I have come across have loved their jobs and are not afraid to help out a student in any situation. When I go back to public school, I know that I will not have the chance to have such close relations with my teachers or peers. It is quite sad to say that my time at CCI is over, but I will savor the many memories and hope that all future students enjoy their time at the school as much as I have. Take care CCI".

"Words cannot describe how grateful I am to have had such an amazing experience and I feel that I am a better person simply from having attended this wonderful school. I have walked away with lifelong friendships, an unparalleled education (both personal and academic), and I feel prepared to conquer the world".

"My name is Laura Beauchamp. I am a CCI alumni.  I lived in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia from age 8 -18 and when my parents had to decide where to send me for boarding school, we choose the Canadian College of Italy. CCI became my home away from home. It's been 16 years since I graduated from CCI, a school, a town, a way of life that became so important to me that it is an integral part of who I am. The life lessons I learned in my 2 1/2 years attending the school are invaluable. Yes, I could have learned some of those same lessons attending a public school in Calgary or going to another boarding school in Europe (which my sister and brother attended), but the community that nurtures you through those lessons makes all the difference. My sister and brother have never returned to their boarding school. I have returned three times and have plans to return again. I don't hear my siblings recounting stories. My husband's probably tired of hearing,  "When I lived in Italy...". Ha, ha. My siblings also don't have the lifelong friendships from their boarding school experience that I have. Perhaps this has something to do with who we are as individuals, but I also believe that the environment created by CCI is a factor. CCI excels at nurturing its students' academic, mental and physical health, and the D'Alessandros truly care about their students. In the best of ways, CCI students both standout from, and integrate into, Italian society. I remember the day I was walking to school and some Italians asked me for directions. "Success!" I thought, "They think I'm Italian". Conversely, I remember the comfort I felt walking through any street or tiny winding Italian cobblestone alley with everyone knowing I was a CCI student. The entire town watches over the students. I could go in a coffee shop or restaurant and find a helping hand, with a smile. Even after attending the University in Calgary, my closest friendships are those which I made at CCI. To me this says something about the community that CCI creates. It reaches far beyond academic achievement, mentoring young world citizens who are sympathetic to diverse cultural perspectives and engaged in the creation and development of arts and sciences. As I write this I have numerous memories of guided historical walks in Rome, Verona, Florence, Venice and Ortona. Reflecting, I realize that the confident, self-driven, community volunteer and self-employed photographer and filmmaker I am today is because of CCI. It's where I learned the tough teenager lessons we must all learn. Immersed in another language and culture while having the opportunity to see, touch and learn about architectural, scientific and legendary artists, results in a well balanced and understanding individual.  

It's a special feeling to know that a community is watching over you and to know the names of every person in your school. I returned to Calgary for the first semester of Grade 12. I wanted to see what public high school was like. There were 2000 students. I had to share my locker with two other people. I never got to know my teachers.  

The dedication of CCI teachers reaches beyond their lesson plans. They put in extra time for sports, theatrical performances, photography club and more. They were a shoulder to lean on and someone to talk too, like many 16 year olds need. 
To succeed in this life I believe we all need a sense of belonging and purpose. CCI gave me that and more. I wouldn't change my high school experience for anything in the world. 
Best of luck with your decision. You'll never regret choosing CCI.
With much respect,  
Laura
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