SPOTLIGHT donor
In It for the Long Haul by Brittany Kenney
“Dad, come get me NOW!,” said Matt DiGiovanni’s tearful daughter, Jessica, as she called him from her middle school. She had just received a poor grade on a test for which she had studied hard. Her dad knew this because they had worked on it together. Yet there she was again, not seeing academic results that matched her arduous efforts. Matt understood his daughter’s frustration better than most; he had been diagnosed with a language-based learning difference (LBLD) as a child and confronted imposing obstacles throughout his educational journey. Labeled as “lazy” by his parochial school teachers, Matt was shuffled from school to school and never considered college a possibility. Likewise, Matt’s wife, Fiorella (Fee), immigrated to America from Italy as a child and 72
The Lantern
faced the incredible challenge of learning a new language while trying to grasp complex academic concepts. They both knew what it felt like to be misunderstood by the educational system. Fast forward many years, and now the DiGiovannis are a family of seven, with five children—Andrew, twins Jessica and Christina, Guilia, and Catherine. Despite his academic hurdles, Matt attended Wentworth Institute of Technology and built a successful career in the construction industry. Fee went on to become SPRING/SUMMER 2020
