There is something in everyone's background that sets them apart from the rest, something that makes them unique in their environment. The fact that I just moved here to the United States by myself coming from Italy makes me different from the High School students in Burlington, New Jersey. I was born in Bologna, Italy, in a family that had baseball running through its veins. My mum was a softball player and my dad a softball coach: that is how my parents met. At a very young age, I got introduced to baseball; it soon became my passion and it has never been a problem to put all my dedication and effort into it. Growing up, I fell in love with the game more and more and it was not hard for me to realize that my dream was to play the game at the highest possible level. Later on, I also realized that I wanted to study at an American college and it became part of my dream. Fortunately, the college environment in the United States allows the pursuit of an academic career while playing baseball at a high level. Being an Italian student and citizen, such a thing is not easy to accomplish and it requires strong commitment and a lot of preparation. That included studying at a high school which would teach me good English while learning math and sciences, as I was pretty clear that I wanted to study something related with sustainability in college. The high school I chose in Italy, Liceo Ginnasio Luigi Galvani, was the perfect fit as it prepared me with teachers who spoke English as their first language and high-level math, physics, and biology courses. My chance to come to the States gladly came during the summer of 2021, when family friends put me in touch with someone who found a school and a baseball travel team for me. I knew taking that chance meant leaving my family, friends, and girlfriend in Italy but, as I had been waiting my whole life for such an opportunity, I took it without hesitation. It was August 29th when I went to my hometown airport to catch the flight that would change my life forever; having to say goodbye to my family and my girlfriend for one last time before leaving was hard and while waiting for the plane at the gate I could not hold back a few tears. Once I landed at JFK airport in New York, I was welcomed by my soon-to-come baseball coach who gave me a ride to my new host family's house. They were very welcoming and the next day I had the chance to see the school where, starting one day later, I would have studied for my whole Junior year. My first concern was the language: I could speak English pretty clearly but understanding people who talked much faster than I was used to was not always easy. Secondly, I was worried that studying in English would take much more time. Soon enough, I got used to it and it stopped being an issue. School in America is very different than in Italy but all the teachers here helped me a lot through the process and it has never been a problem. Lastly, integrating with the new team was not hard at all. After all, we all spoke the same language, baseball, and being used to playing in a semi-professional league in Italy along with grown men made me ready for American baseball.
Thanks to this experience, I was offered a scolarship at Beloit College Wi, where i just finished my sophomore year, studying to become an engineer while playing my favourite sport at a very high level
This is my American Dream