My father migrated to Queens, NY when he was eleven/twelve years old. He and his six brothers and sisters lived life on a small farm in a mostly rural region of southern Sicily, and island south of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea. The reason I chose the railroad and Teamsters logo is because he, along with his four brothers and his nephews worked on the railroad. They held jobs such as tracklayers and welders. It became the identify of my father's side of the family, where he eventually worked his way up to foreman and then became a union representative. As time passed, he climbed the ranks to become the President of the Union, the second highest rank within his local. When I was in high school and college, my father preached the importance of being in a union, so someone could fight for your rights collectively and not forced to fend for yourself against a possibly malicious boss. After I declared history as my major he said "Good you can become a teacher, they have the largest union in the country. You get your benefits and your pension and you are set." And essentially that was how my decision was made to become a teacher.

– VINCENZO LOVERME

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant