Maya Sasaki-George ’28
College is one of the only times in life when people from such vastly different backgrounds are thrown together and invited to interact; whether you’re coming from 20 minutes down the road or from the other side of the world, lifelong bonds are forged at Trinity. The Tripod sat down with International House (I-House) co-presidents Francesco Castagna ’25 and Nini Tsikhistavi ’25 to discuss their experiences with the organization and the legacy they hope to leave behind. Tsikhistavi, a psychology major from Georgia, and Castagna, a political science and human rights major from Italy, have been friends since their first month at Trinity, taking up the mantle of leadership at the I-House this past year. The two find themselves very pleased with the current e-board and have no qualms about leaving the I-House in their care as they advance into the next chapter of their lives. What stood out most about their description of the I-House were the unbreakable bonds of friendship that seem to be facilitated there, bringing together students from all across the globe and creating a new home for them at Trinity.
Neither Castagna nor Tsikhistavi began their Trinity journey involved in I-House leadership, but were soon drawn in to help organize the college’s annual International Show, a talent show showcasing a wide range of cultural art forms from around the world. After this first event, Castagna and Tsikhistavi went all in on the I-House, taking on larger and larger leadership positions until they became the presidents in charge today. This year’s I-Show, taking place on April 11, 2025, was a major success with hundreds in attendance.
“The I-Show is always monumental, in my opinion,” said Tsikhistavi. When asked about her other favorite recurring I-House events, Tsikhistavi said, “I really love our poetry nights… A lot of people come and share very personal things [with] us, especially in native languages, which we don’t really get to do much.”
When asked about his favorite I-House event, Castagna mentioned the Campus Town Hall meeting taking place on Feb. 14, 2025, a collaborative event for a variety of students, faculty, staff and organizations to discuss their Trinity-related concerns. “We’re looking to make this more of a tradition, to institutionalize the Campus Town Hall,” he said. “We were happy to do it with other organizations, to have that space on campus.”
Both presidents agreed that their transition through leadership within the I-House was a simple and instinctive one. “The I-House breeds a sort of environment where you’re so involved for so many years that the natural progression at the end of the four years is for you to be president, which is why it doesn’t feel as hard to leave,” said Tsikhistavi. “The I-House is in good hands.” Castagna agreed with this sentiment, describing the two’s attempts to act as more of a guiding hand than a driving force this past year, allowing younger students to learn event-organizing skills themselves.
Tsikhistavi and Castagna shared more about their personal experiences being international students at Trinity and what they felt the I-House had done for them. “Growing up, I always thought of the United States as ‘the place to be,’” said Tsikhistavi. “[It] was a very scary thing in the beginning, to come all the way from the eastern side of the world, all the way over here where everything is so different,” she said. “I think there’s no other sort of environment that you could be put in that would help you grow in this capacity… What facilitated that sort of jump for me was the international community on campus.”
Castagna has been living away from home for 10 years now and out of his country for six, describing his experience studying away as more of a gradual process. “I came to Trinity because of the opportunity it gave me,” he said. “To think that from a small town in the north of Italy, I could end up here… [It] is still crazy to me.” The pair often spoke of the importance of the I-House’s physical building in providing an anchor for international students. “We have a physical space that is very personal,” described Castagna. “Every international student has memories related to that I-House.” Tsikhistavi passionately agreed with this point: “That’s what I tried to bring into our presidency as well, to have [the I-House] be a comfortable space…where people feel like they can share that part of themselves that they don’t really get to in other spaces on campus,” she said.
More than just providing comfort and support, both presidents are proud of the I-House’s emphasis on having difficult conversations regarding world issues and promoting the spread of information from first-hand accounts. “We try to hold spaces for all conversations that are needed to have and the I-House facilitates that,” said Tsikhistavi. “We are the ones that know and have the experience of what goes on around the world,” added Castagna. “If not us, who else?”
Finally, the two shared some of their favorite memories at Trinity and what legacy they hope to leave. Tsikhistavi’s favorite memory was her very first month at Trinity, alone in a foreign environment but forming bonds with later lifelong friends. “The feeling I felt in the very beginning [is] something I try to keep alive within me as I go about life on campus,” she said. When asked about his proudest contribution to the I-House and Trinity itself, Castagna described his desire “for other organizations to be able to know that they can rely on the I-House.” Through his work with the organization, he truly feels he has accomplished this: “We are a good partner and it’s a good support system,” he said. “As I leave, I know that we will have actually left something.”
Through the international community and the bonds formed within the I-House, both Castagna and Tsikhistavi feel as though Trinity has become their new home. “I feel like the study abroad experience [in Edinburgh] made me really appreciate everything Trinity has done for me and how much it has become a part of my identity,” said Tsikhistavi. Castagna agreed: “After studying away…I was really glad of coming back here as well, for the people that I would find back,” he proudly declared. “Now I’m ready to leave again.”
[…] Senior Spotlight: International House Presidents Francesco Castagna and Nini Tsikhistavi […]