Abruzzo Shares Love of Lit

Since she was young, Julianne Abruzzo has loved to read and write. Now she shares her love of literature with the students at Fluvanna where she teaches English 10 Honors and English 10 Academic.

Abruzzo is from Herndon, VA, which is located in Fairfax County, about 30 minutes from Washington, D.C. She describes life there as “very hectic, very rigorous, and very diverse.”

She attended the College of William and Mary for undergraduate school, and then went to Michigan, where she attended the University of Michigan Ann Arbor for graduate school. Abruzzo began teaching straight out of college and has since taught for three years in her hometown before moving to Charlottesville with her husband.

On her inspiration for becoming a teacher, she says she was inspired by her own English teachers who pushed her through her academic career with their support of her ability as a writer and as a person. Abruzzo describes her teachers as “out of a movie,” and even invited two of them to her wedding.

Abruzzo loves books. She relates to characters like Jane Eyre and Hermione Granger for their independent personalities. “I have collected characters into my identity,” she says. One of her favorite things about teaching is helping her students do the same thing. Abruzzo also enjoys writing; she says it is the best way for her to express herself.
“I love how books and writing make you feel alive and seen and heard and understood,” she says. She enjoys being able to show others how to love books, and how to build their identities through reading and writing. “When they write something authentically in their own voice, breaking out of the assignment’s chains to say something original, those are the lasting memories and moments for me as a teacher,” she says.

When she isn’t teaching, Abruzzo keeps busy by baking, hiking, and caring for her husky puppy.