While walking through the halls of THS, you may have passed by a fashionable, smiley man with a long and wispy mustache or heard vibrant musica blasting from his classroom in the foreign language wing. A coach and an Italian teacher, who is Michael Vicchio?
Vicchio, known to many as Prof or Coach, has always been a Jersey Boy. He grew up and played lacrosse in Rivervale, with his American mother and Italian father. After high school, he attended Montclair State University, where he found his passion for Italian (and mustaches)! He currently resides in Hoboken, and he’s been teaching Italian at THS since 2016. Vicchio started learning Italian as his foreign language in high school but decided to major in international business in college. “Econ did not click; business was only a good class because I liked my professor, but I actually enjoyed doing the homework for Italian class,” he said. “So I was like, I’m gonna give this a shot. Then, I switched to an Italian major after my first semester.” The rest was history; he has spent his life learning and teaching Italian.
The Growth of the Mustache
Vicchio was a student at Montclair State when his mustache journey began. “It was junior year,” he said. “For Halloween, I dressed as More Cowbell, the Will Ferrell Saturday Night Live skit. To dress as him, I spent eight weeks growing out a beard, and once Halloween passed, I wanted to see what else I could do with it. I shaved it down to just some mustache and curled it using wax.” Although the college ’stache did not stay for long, he thought it looked snazzy, and he was happy to know he could grow it out.
After going through the socially distanced and monotonous 2020-2021 school year, Vicchio wanted to spice things up. Like many of us, he decided he wanted to change his look after COVID. After pondering the idea of new clothes, jewelry, or accessories, he reminisced on how cool his mustache looked in college and decided on the mustache’s comeback.
Some may say Vicchio was ahead of the times; soon after he had his mustache resurrection, mustaches took the internet by storm. In May 2022, Top Gun: Maverick was released. Bradley Bradshaw, played by Miles Teller, had a prominent facial feature: his mustache. After the film was released, mustaches were a trend; every guy wanted one. Vicchio, already having one before they were trending, indeed shows his eye for fashion and stylishness.
Vicchio is not only ahead on fashion trends but also in his teaching style. Every student has gone through a class where it is strictly guided notes and lectures. Those classes are incredibly dull, but not Vicchio’s. He takes relevant or trending ideas and connects them with the topics being taught to keep students engaged. “So for example, one thing we do in Italian three is reflexive verbs and clothes,” Vicchio said. “What I try to do is gear that towards fashion, so we will do fashion shows or conversations.” His interactive and relevant ways of teaching are one of the many reasons students are so fond of him.
Vicchio is also committed to being part of the students’ lives outside the classroom. Aside from being a Tenafly boys lacrosse coach, he attends all his students’ sporting events, plays, recitals, etc.; you name it, he is there. Vicchio likes seeing students outside the classroom to get to know and connect with them better.
So, next time you see the mustached man known as Prof. Vicchio, make sure you say Ciao! And compliment his mustache. A student favorite, this educator and coach will continue his interactive teaching methods and rocking the ’stache.
