When Huskies linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui recently spoke about a meaningful moment from his UW experience, he teared up. The meaningful moment did not take place on a football field. It involved a foreign country and a favorite professor.
Tupuola-Fetui (BA, Comparative History of Ideas) was moved to tears speaking about Jim Clauss, professor of classics in the College of Arts & Sciences, who led a ten-day study abroad program in Rome for UW student athletes. For Tupuola-Fetui, the experience reignited his love of learning, which had waned when classes went online during Covid.
“When I met Jim, the first thing I noticed was his enthusiasm for what he’s teaching,” Tupuola-Fetui recalled, speaking at the UW’s newly renovated Rome Center in June, to an audience that included UW President Ana Mari Cauce and College of Arts & Sciences Dean Dianne Harris. “Jim has an infectious attitude that makes us all want to learn more.”
After participating in the Rome program in 2022, Tupuola-Fetui was so inspired that he signed up again in 2023. “Sadly, my time at school is coming to an end and I don’t think I’ll be able to make it three years in a row,” he told the Rome Center audience, only half joking.