The Grand Valley segment came about due to an assignment by visiting professor Gisella Gisolo, who teaches Elementary Italian II. For their final oral presentation, students were required to write about the Italian-American they most admire. Beth Murawsky, chose Tony Danza, known for his previous TV shows "Taxi" and "Who's the Boss," as well as his current talk show.
When Murawsky contacted Danza's producers to obtain photos and background about his career for her presentation, they in turn contacted her professor to arrange a surprise visit by Danza to the class on April 20. His film crew captured the students' surprised reactions when Danza walked into the classroom, dressed in a GVSU sweatshirt. They were even more stunned when he announced that the entire class and professor Gisolo were being given a trip to Rome, compliments of Perillo Tours and airline Alitalia.
