My name is Silvana Francesca Schettino. I was born and raised on Long-Island New York, right outside Ellis Island where both of my parents and both of their parentstraveled through from Italy with dreams of a better life. After my mother passed away when I was 15 months old, I had gone to Italy with my father Gerardino, and brother Luigi. Being too young to remember the trip, I had always dreamed to go back, to learn about where my mother (and father) had come from. I coasted through a central Florida high school where I enveloped myself into a new found hobby: Photography. After becoming certified in Photoshop CS4 editing software, Dark-Room Film Photography, and passing and testing AP level courses I decided it was much more than a hobby. After highschool I got a once in a lifetime opportunity to go back to Italy. I was fortunate to go visit my roots on my mothers side of a small mountain top village called Vico Pancellorum, outside Bagni Di Lucca, Tuscany. As i began to embrace the culture that has been in my family for generations I started to grow very attached. Attaching to the culture and way of life is what has aspired the change in my way of life. My Italian relatives in Bologna, Bagni, Capri and Castellamare di Stabia have also grown to love their american counterpart and in turn have offered their help with finding the right school to work at along with any questions I should have. I spent my time learning the culture, taking beautiful photos and speaking the language fluently. My time there was short, and as I returned home.. My heart has stayed behind in Italy. Returning to America was not easy, and to this day I have not lost a feeling or change of heart about my future. My dream is to return to Italy to teach English whilst following a photojournalism path on the side.