Leonilda "Lee" DeMilo '96 sips espresso from a flowered cup at her kitchen table. Behind her, sunlight hits the granite-topped island, where she rolls dough for pasta.

"This room once made me deathly ill, and now I work in here," she says, waving her hands around the modern kitchen and gathering room she built to accommodate Lingua e Cucina, a business she founded to foster an appreciation for the language, culture and cuisine of her native Italy.

The talented cook and former restaurateur remembers a time when pots and pans sat idle in her chestnut cabinets as she fought an autoimmune disease caused by an allergic reaction to Sheetrock, which she was exposed to during a home renovation project in 2001.

DeMilo was a successful sales representative for IKON in Milford, Conn., before her illness forced her to leave. Upon regaining her health two years later, she felt she'd been given a second chance to do something meaningful, and conceived the idea for Lingua e Cucina.

Her clients range from business people to travelers hoping to read menus in Italian and converse with relatives. Groups of six to eight people experience a slice of Italy at her Italian language and culture dinners. They learn a little Italian, drink a little wine, and enjoy foods such as homemade gnocchi or veal pizzaiola, sometimes assisting in the preparation.

Before earning her Quinnipiac degree in marketing with a concentration in international marketing, DeMilo operated Lee's Napoletana Restaurant in Northford, Conn., with her first husband, who died in 1997. She took one free course at Quinnipiac upon completing her associate's degree at Gateway Community College, and a staff member in Quinnipiac's registrar's office encouraged her to apply for a scholarship. She was so motivated by the support she received during her time at Quinnipiac that she is contributing to scholarship funds for current students.

DeMilo's new career often makes her reminiscent of her childhood in San Lorenzello, Italy. "We learned to have a relationship with food, to respect it and enjoy it, and never to rush."