Lucia Maria

Meet Lucia...

This  is Lucia Maria Borghesi-Davis, better known as Lucy or Nana. She was born in the small village named Bagne De Lucca in Tuscany, Italy. She was born in 1935, just 4 years before WWII began in Europe. Not only did Nana live to witness WWII, but she experience it first hand.

Before she and her family fled Italy for the United States in 1950, her family helped American soldiers get Jewish citizens to safety. When she was younger, about 5 or 6-years-old she said she would help hide some soldiers' things in her stuffed animals so the Nazi's wouldn't know they were hiding out there. 

She talked about growing up in this atmosphere. The bad parts, but always some good ones. The American soldiers took a likely to young Lucy, and would spoil her with chocolates. She might have even blushed a little when she talked about it. See, little things like candy and chocolate were a luxury to get at this point in time, so these soldiers truly did spoil her by bringing them to her. 

She talks about a little pocket Bible she received  from one of the soldiers staying in her home. In the Bible was a message her wrote to her. "To Lucy, May you grow into a beautiful young woman, and I hope to see you real soon. May God Bless your people always, Bernard." To this day, she still cherishes it deeply.

Pocket Bible to Lucia from general Barnard

Lucy's granddaughter Jillian reading her Nana's pocket Bible

Since her family fled in 1950, she has only been back one time. She doesn't remember the exact year, but she had the opportunity to go with her loving late husband. It almost brought her to tears when she talked about going back with him. She talked about what she misses about it, but she is happy with the life she has her. She said she married a wonderful man, and had 3 beautiful daughters. Then she was blessed with 5 beautiful grandchild, and now the most adorable great-grandchild.

A picture of Lucia's village in Italy that she proudly hangs on her wall

Nana has lived a wonderful life, and she has many stories to tell. Although that time was a difficult time in her life, she bravely did her part. She got out and lived a happy life with people she cherishes. 

Web Biography Proposal

For my web biography, I would like to interview Lucia Maria Borghesi-Davis. Lucy is an 80-year-old spitfire from Bagne De Lucca, Italy. Born in 1935, she lived to not only see WWII, but experience it first hand. Before she and her family fled Italy for the United States in 1950, they helped American soldiers get Jewish citizens to safety. She would hide soldiers' things in her stuffed animals so the Nazi's wouldn't know they were hiding out there. As a 15-year-old girl, she did her part to help save the world. She received a little pocket Bible from one of the soldiers staying in her home with a message in it to her which she still has and cherishes today. This is why I would like to interview the brave and wonderful Lucia.

Disability Symposium

On November 24, 2015, Slippery Rock University held the 1st ever President's Commission for Disability Issues (PCDI) Disability Symposium. The event was held in the Smith Student Center Ballroom from 8:00am to about 2:15pm. The symposium was held by Dr. Dallas Jackson and Dr. Johnathan Anning and provided participants with professional development, educational opportunities, and contexts within which to increase their advocacy and awareness of issues pertaining to quality of life for individuals with disabling health conditions. The symposium consisted of many guest speakers and demonstrations, as well as the keynote speaker; Aaron 'Wheelz' Fotheringham. The symposium was a fun, educational, and important event that students should attend next year.

Video ThinkLink Proposal

"The inaugural President’s Commission for Disability Issues (PCDI) Disability Symposium is a part of the 2015-2016 Slippery Rock University (SRU) Diversity and Inclusion Series. PCDI developed this event to facilitate professional development, as well as, advocacy and awareness for SRU faculty, graduate students, undergraduate students, and leaders in fields of study related to disability. Wheelchair athlete, Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham, will be the keynote speaker during common hour."

I want to tell the story of the first Slippery Rock University Disability Symposium through the ThinkLink assignment. Speakers from the SRU CPAD and APA programs will be speaking as well as Aaron Fotheringham, a 24-year-old extreme wheelchair athlete who performs different tricks similar to skateboarding and BMX.

Pittsburgh Steelwheelers

On Saturday Nov. 7 and Sunday Nov. 8, the Pittsburgh Steelwheeler's hosted a quad rugby tournament at the Slippery Rock University ARC. Slippery Rock University recently named November Disability Awareness Month and hosted this Quad Rugby tournament in association with that. On Sunday morning I caught up with the Adaptive Sports Program of Ohio team to get their take on the tournament. The Adaptive Sports Program of Ohio (ASPO) is a 501(c)3 organization that helps promote the health and wellness of individuals with physical disabilities by providing competitive and recreational adaptive sport opportunities throughout the state of Ohio.

The Wreckers player attempts to score over the ASPO team. 

Wrecker player must adjust his wheel after a collision.

The Pittsburgh Steelwheelers are one of the few teams who had female players.

The ASPO team shakes hands after a 36-20 victory.

The ASPO team poses after their victory.

Yianni Thallas on the ASPO team talks about how he got involved in Quad Rugby.

Dilshani Madawala talks about how she got her job with ASPO and why she loves it.

This video shows the fast pace of Quad Rugby when they get straight back to the game after a goal.

Sunset Serenade

Sunset Serenade was an event held at the Storm Harbor Equestrian Center in Slippery Rock to raise money for their program. Guests were able to enjoy a variety of foods, an open bar, and live entertainment. Guests were encouraged to donate through raffle baskets and a live auction that was held at the end of the night. President of the university, Cheryl Norton spoke on behalf of the center, and Chuck Rock, an American veteran who used horse therapy to help his PTSD. It was a beautiful event and raised a great deal of money.

Social Media Over the Years

Since ARPANET was released in 1969 the online world has evolved immensely. We went from Packet Switching Networks to basically having the world at our fingertips. And with these wonderful advancements in technologies came social networking sites where we can make connections, reconnect, share, and even creep on people on a whole new level. Here is a look at the history of our beloved social media.