Tom Savignano, a retired pathologist who once worked at Kaiser Hospital in Hayward, first came to the Dickens Project in 2002 and has been a regular, dedicated attendee since 2007. He is very enthusiastic about furthering the cause of English literature in schools, a passion that led him to fund the Dickens Project’s Community College Scholarship. In 2010, Tom was speaking with a friend who teaches at College of the Redwoods, and she was lamenting that the Universe was too expensive for her students to attend, that there was no financial aid for them. On the spot, he decided to fund the Community College Scholarship, and he says it was an easy decision, and he has always been glad to have had the opportunity to create the scholarship.
Tom Savignano’s love of Dickens began when he read Tale of Two Cities for a class in high school. He now says he has several favorite Dickens novels, but if he had to choose, he would call Great Expectations his favorite. In his retirement, he devotes his time to his loves of classical music, opera, astronomy, and gardening.
Tom Savignano loves the camaraderie among the people who attend the Dickens Universe and the beautiful campus setting and would like to say to prospective attendees that they should not be intimidated. “It’s a lot of fun and a great opportunity to deepen your knowledge of Victorian literature and culture.”