This year, Branson offered a wide selection of 30 different courses, including recurring favorites, like A Taste of Italy or new experiences, such as Survivor. 

The Branson immersives program is a way for teachers to share their passions with the community and celebrate the hard work of both faculty and students. Branson’s Registrar Henri de Marcellus was able to share a unique insight on the many immersives offered, from the most requested courses this year all the way to what these last two weeks on campus mean to him. 

“I work … to find out which students have finished half their community engagement hours,” said de Marcellus. “I am scheduling students into immersives, starting with the students who have done their community engagement, and then the seniors, and then juniors, and then sophomores, and then ninth graders.”

With about 300 requests, the top choice this year was A Taste of Italy with Gisella Petrone, Donatella D’Aguanno and Marcus Trigg, director of culinary services.

Next, Woodworking got 245 requests, California State Parks received 225, Branson Survivor had 224, and Sustainability and Stewardship at Slide Ranch drew in 204 requests. 

Petrone, who is a human development teacher and junior class dean, said the Taste of Italy immersive lets her express the cultures of her hometown and many other regions in Italy through food.

“This is the second year we’ve offered [Taste of Italy]. [D’Aguanno] and I, last year, decided to choose eight Italian regions and talk about not only the food but the culture. We tried to create our own travel guide” Petrone said.

Cooking is something Petrone likes to do at home and was happy to share this hobby with students.

“For me cooking is relaxing … I love to get my hands in pizza, pasta and focaccia dough,” Petrone said. “Cooking brings me back to my hometown, it brings me back to my family … Food represents joy and connection, and I’m hoping that our students will see that.”