From growing up in an Italian city to teaching in an American classroom, Dr. Costa carries a bit of Italy in his heart wherever he goes. 

For twenty-seven years of his life he grew up in Naples, Italy. He grew up in a normal city like most people – cement and bricks everywhere. As soon as he first graduated high school in Italy, his family wanted him to major in a high quality job so he majored in Business. Fortunately for all of his students now, he hated it. 

He dropped out of school and went to the Italian army for a year. This had really helped him find himself and made him ready to stand on his own and figure out what he wanted to do with his life. When he came back home, his dad had asked him what he wanted to do and he decided to go back to college. He wanted to major in something he actually enjoyed so he went to be a sociologist. He loved it this time, graduating top of his class with a full scholarship. He was able to apply for a PhD in America at Stony Brook University.

He still had no idea what he wanted to do. But he came to America anyway with his scholarship from Stony Brook University. Everyone told him it was impossible. They said that he was going to have to translate every paper, he did not know the language very well, and he was going to have to adjust all his credits he earned into the credits for the United States. But Dr. Costa told himself something his dad had told him prior in his life: “Other people did this before me and succeeded, I’m gonna do it. If you really want to pursue something you work hard at it and you eventually get it.” His dad had really taught him how to be strong. Not in the traditional masculine way but in a way to always be ready for everything life brings. Every challenge Dr. Costa has in front of him he thinks of his father’s words.

After gaining his PhD, he knew he wanted to become an educator, mostly to graduate students. So he stayed in Stony Brook as a professor, where he was a full time lecturer for over thirteen years. He taught an abundance of different classes other than the Italian language including history, cinema, music, and an organized crime class.

Unfortunately, in 2017 the University decided to cut their program back and Dr. Costa had to find another job. He would have to look for another University which could have taken him to a different state. His wife, who was born and raised on Long Island, told him, “Why don’t you try public school?” So that is what he did. 

He applied for an opening in East Islip and got the job. But, Dr. Costa never had expected to become a teacher for high school students and it took some getting used to. For example, he had no idea about the A day and B day schedule. He remembers his first year here, he had a study hall and it took him a couple of weeks to even realize that every other day there were two different groups of people. 

Despite the adjustment, after six years at the high school, he says “I love it. I sometimes wish I had done this before, earlier.”

Just as transitioning into high school took a lot of adapting, moving to America was no easy task either. Being away from the place he lived the whole beginning of his life was tough, and sometimes still is. Dr. Costa described how it is difficult when his whole life was uprooted and placed somewhere else. East Islip is now his home, yet he still wishes every now and again for that nostalgic feeling of childhood memories.

Dr. Costa understands that all his students are not the same, each one with a different personality and different background. He tries to adapt his personality with whomever he is interacting with. Some students have a joking personality and others are quieter, he knows to equally communicate with both. It is not one size fits all, and as a teacher Dr. Costa realizes that. He also tries to be a leader, and encourages his students to do the same. To him “A leader is someone who always tries to do the right thing. A leader is somebody that works hard and shows other people how to work hard.” 

He has won “Favorite Teacher” as voted on by seniors four times in the last six years including this year, but he says it’s the environment of the classroom that matters, not a plaque. If he can bring a smile onto your face, he is happy and that is worth more than a million plaques. When a student comes up to Dr. Costa telling him something along the lines of “Thank you for all you do for me, you make my day brighter” it really motivates him to be the type of teacher he is. 

Some Other Facts About Dr. Costa

What Hobby do you have right now?

Dr. Costa is a soccer ref, he has taken it up for the past couple of years. It is not because he needs to do it, he does it because it is a challenge. Every game has different situations, it makes him sharp, analyzing the events, analyzing the circumstances. If he makes a mistake he learns from it, making him a better judge.

Do you have any pets?

He has two dogs, Vito and Sonny. Sonny is short for Santino. They are both named after one of his favorite movies, The Godfather. Vito is the youngest, he is a Pitbull Beagle mix, Sonny is older and is a Miniature Pinscher.

What is something that nobody knows about you?

When Dr. Costa was in the army; he actually served as a guard for the Italian President.

What do you want people to know about you?

He always tries to do the right thing no matter what. Sometimes he fails at it because other people have different opinions. But if he thinks he is doing the right thing he pursues it.