Recently, I had the privilege of sitting down and having a conversation with one of our new staff members here at Oratory, Ms. Giuseppina LaTorre. Ms. LaTorrre is the Administrative Assistant to the Director of Admissions here at Oratory. She is certainly a standout character, and our conversation was surely interesting. After sitting down with her, I have learned three very important things about her. Her commitment to family, her connection with friends, and her hilarious sense of humor which makes her the person she is today.

Ms. LaTorre’s family history has had an impact on her own life. Her parents, originally born in Italy, immigrated to the United States and established their own life here. For Ms. LaTorre, it means a lot to her to be a first generation American. The work ethic of her parents inspired her to work just as hard in her own education and career. She takes great pride in having graduated from college, and establishing a life for herself here in the US on her own — especially since she is the only female out of all her siblings. Even through particularly tough times and strains on her own family, Ms. LaTorre approaches life with a lot of determination. She has her own family now with a daughter that looks up to her as a role model. Her daughter, Angelina, is six years old and will turn seven years old on New Year’s Eve. Angelina keeps her mother on her toes, whether it be needing help with homework, a ride to one of her sports practices, or just for an ear to listen to her jokes – Angelina certainly is a character. In a follow-up email after the interview, Ms. LaTorre disclosed that in addition to the extremely adorable picture (seen right), Angelina wanted to send me a video of her doing “the robot.” I think this, and the words of Ms. LaTorre, describe Angelina’s eccentric behavior perfectly – “I call her a sour patch kid because she’s sweet and sour. She’s so kind but a maniac.”

As I mentioned, the second characteristic that makes Ms. LaTorre who she is today is her ability to connect with others and maintain lasting friendships. For example, Ms. LaTorre currently assists Mr. Boniello with admissions duties and considers him a close friend, which makes the workday go very quickly. Mr. Boniello, a father himself, is very down to earth and a good-hearted person, and Ms. LaTorre always takes great joy in talking with him. In one moment, the two of them could be having a very mundane conversation and suddenly Mr. Boniello may chime in with a dad joke, turning the whole mood of the room around. Their friendship did not start at Oratory, though. It began at Ms. LaTorre’s first job in Tennessee. It just so happened that the week that Ms. LaTorre was leaving, Mr. Boniello was just hired. The two had a very momentary friendship which, evidently enough, carried on to the present day. The job that Ms. LaTorre moved from, though, was vastly different from her current job at Oratory. Her previous job was at a small marketing firm newsletter for medical professionals. It had her constantly meeting tight deadlines and provided massive loads of work. Her work at the marketing firm contrasts greatly from Ms. LaTorre’s current role at Oratory, as it was not as personable. The constant stressful environment was not a conducive environment for Ms. LaTorre, which led her to come to Oratory.

Finally — and on the topic of dad jokes — Ms. LaTorre has a great deal of appreciation for humor and comedy. She enjoys a lot of dry humor, especially. Her favorite show is “The Big Bang Theory”, and her favorite comedian is Sebastian Maniscalco. Mr. Boniello is not the only comedian in the admissions office, though. Ms. LaTorre has her own fair share of jokes, all of which gave me a good chuckle. For example, when I asked her if she could pick a favorite movie to describe her life at this current moment, she jokingly responded with “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Her real answer to the question was actually “Shaun of the Dead.” She finds the movie charming in the fact that “even while the world is ending, there’s so much humor to be found.” She not only finds humor with others but has her own experiences that she recalls as very funny. She told me one story where she once accidentally flooded a two-story hotel, after which she ran away and didn’t return! Another time, she had to get surgery on her foot because there was a staple lodged in there for almost two years. Many people may never mention these stories because they would be too embarrassed to mention them. However, Ms. LaTorre decides to find humor in her own life and maintain a positive outlook on her past.

In conclusion, my interview with Ms. Latorre was a very enjoyable conversation, and I learned so much about one of our very own faculty members at Oratory. I find her outlook on her past and present fascinating. Ms. LaTorre has the abilities to be comfortable in her own skin, to learn from her past, and to approach life with grace and a good sense of humor. In her own words, “everybody has trials and tribulations through life, and peaks and valleys. I always say I’ve felt my happy ending for now.” Her positive outlook and constant humor made our conversation very pleasant. Thank you very much for speaking with me, Ms. LaTorre — and, in the spirit of good humor, thank you again for the incredible meme you sent!