I am a student at George W. Hewlett High School and I’m currently in my sophomore year. I have always enjoyed learning the history of the world’s nations in history class; I have always been interested in math, too. I am an A- student and on my schools honor roll.
I am from a family that is very cultural. I am half Italian and we all follow a lot of Italian traditions like all holidays and Sunday dinners at my nonna’s (grandma) house where the whole family is present. Family is a very important and core foundation to us. This side of my family enjoys listening to classic Italian music, watching Italian television, and speaking Italian at the table. Food is also a big part of spending time together and we enjoy spending hours at the table as a family eating, talking and enjoying our time together. The other side of my family is from German, English, and Polish heritage. Though they are not as traditional, they still follow many traditions that were common to that of their heritage. I have learned a lot about European culture from my grandparents and other relatives from European nations, and I’m egger to learn even more by traveling with People to People.
From a young age I was always very interested in sports, whether watching or playing sports, I’ve always enjoyed being active. I like to play every sport for recreation, but the three sports I love, and play competitively are swimming, diving, and golf. This past swim season I was top 10 in the county for six dives and top 15 for eleven dives. I am also very into music, I love to listen to and play music. I am a drummer in school and in a band outside of school. I have learned a lot about music including how to write music for many instruments. I can recognize pitches by just listening. My favorite kind of music is Rock and Classic rock, but I like a little of everything, even jazz, or classic orchestra. I can enjoy all forms of music.
I also enjoy traveling because it gives me a chance to see the difference between our culture and the culture of another nation. Also being a musician I love the music of other nations because of its unique style. I have a little international travel experience and a good amount of domestic travel experience. I have traveled out of the country once; to Calabria, Italy to visit my family and to attend my cousin’s wedding. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I enjoyed meeting family for the first time and experiencing the wedding. It was similar to an American wedding but in many ways it was very different. We were in a small town called Rota Greca, where my grandpa grew up. Everybody in the town walked to the house of the bride’s family before the ceremony and then followed the limo on foot to the church. It was a beautiful community celebration. Also I visited Filendari another small town where my grandma grew up and had the opportunity to experience the Feast of Saint Marina (Festa di Santa Marina), which is a big celebration there. It was three days long and everyone in the town would attend church and then participate in a big town wide celebration. I also had the honor of dancing the Jiganti, which means “the giants.” This is where two costumes are made by the town’s people and worn to ward off evil or negative spirits from the festival. They are made to be giant figures, but happy looking to symbolize the good spirit of the festival. It was a great experience because there’s really nothing like it here on long island. Even though this tradition is celebrated in a local church in Inwood, NY, it’s not the same as it was in Italy.
I also travel a lot in side of the USA. One reason being me and my dad like NASCAR so we’ve been to a lot of races that are held on the eastern side of the United States, including an annual trip to the Daytona 500 in Daytona Florida for the past 10 years. I’ve been able to visit places like the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, and the Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, FL. These journeys were made by car, which have enabled me to see many states along the way. I love traveling a lot and I can’t wait to travel to Europe with People to People. I look forward to experiencing the wonderful opportunities ahead and to meeting and spending time with many new friends.
