Profile of On-site Director Alex Pagnani

Article compilation by M&M staffers/ Photo by Mary Scheirer

Alex Pagnani, contrary to popular belief, was never a Navy SEAL. He laughed as he told the Media and Message students during their interview, and explained how that was just a well-executed joke with the camp staff.
Pagnani, the On-Site Director (OSD) of Duke TIP at the University of Georgia, is currently working on his PhD in Gifted Education. He loves his job here at Duke TIP, since it builds on the topic he studies at UGA.
Before being in charge, Pagnani taught the courses “Human Intelligence” and “Intro to Psychology.” Pagnani was also the mind behind the popular “The Brain, Intelligence, and Creativity” class, which he was scheduled to teach.
There are definitely some drawbacks to being the camp’s OSD, he said. Whenever anything happens, he is always the one to call the parents, which can be stressful. “A lot of my time gets spent problem-solving instead of dealing with classes and residential activities,” Pagnani said. Last term was filled with issues, since it was the first ever Duke TIP camp at UGA. There was a widespread “TIP-plague,” as Pagnani called it, where around 70 students were sent to the doctor in the first two weeks. “Every time I would step out the door, my phone would go off,” he said.
Pagnani was born in 1980 in Ocean City, N.J., located on a little island in southern New Jersey. Pagnani said, “Ocean City was a ghost town two-thirds of the year.” He said this was because during the Summer months it would be packed with people coming to the beach, but after Labor Day the crowd would die out and 90 percent of the houses would be empty and the windows were boarded.
After high school, he attended the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, living in South Bend for six years. He considered Law for two years, but soon changed his mind, switching to major in gifted education.
One year after finals at Notre Dame, Pagnani decided to take a road trip around the United States. He and his grandfather had planned it, but Pagnani went alone since his grandfather had passed. Pagnani said that he came back with $100 in his bank account, but that it was worth it.
He said he was very fortunate to be able to travel as much as he has. Pagnani also studied abroad for a year in Japan. When people ask him to say something in Japanese, he likes to tell them that he is “a big blue eggplant.”
Although Pagnani’s determined and supportive personality lends itself to many professions, the on-site director believes he has found his right fit. Pagnani intends to continue working at TIP and hopes to continue his research on “residential gifted programs.”
Gifted* students, especially gifted under-achievers, are Pagnani’s main interest. After being placed in his school’s gifted program because he could read at an early age, Pagnani has worked with gifted students for years and is considering writing his dissertation on gifted college students.
Even though the job as OSD for Duke TIP at UGA is a strenuous one, Alex Pagnani seems to take it with stride. With a chuckle and a smile, Pagnani seems to have everything under control.