Student: You graduated from SUU with a degree in English. Are you originally from Utah?
Sterrantino: I'm not. I was born in Rhinebeck, New York (my whole family is from Brooklyn). We lived in Maryland for a little while, but I spent most of my childhood in Las Vegas, Nevada. I didn't move to Utah until I transferred to SUU from UNLV. I was originally a theater major, so the theater department, in particular the Shakespearean Festival's influence, is what drew me here.
Student: After having lived in Arlington, TX, what is it like to return to Cedar?
Sterrantino: We lived in Arlington and Fort Worth, mostly Fort Worth. As much as I liked the diversity and the many cultural offerings in the Metroplex (not to mention some of the best friends I've ever had and some really great restaurants that I miss!), I couldn't stand driving 20 minutes minimum to get everywhere. I love the commute in Cedar! The size of the city suits my personality more, too. I like being more in touch with the community that way. I have always wanted to get back to Cedar City; in fact, teaching at SUU was always a goal in the back of my mind, before I ever really decided to go to graduate school. I was really fortunate to get a job at the only university at which I wanted to teach; I am fully aware of how unusual that is in this economy.
My daughter got to attend Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts for five years; it's a charter school from 3rd-12th grades with only 450 students. I was really stressed about taking her away from that phenomenal experience. Ironically, considering the size of Cedar City compared to Fort Worth, she was a little overwhelmed at first by the size of the schools here because of FWAFA! But, she now attends Canyon View High School and has had a fantastic theater teacher (Mr. Arave) who has given her great opportunities and made the transition less painful for her. Plus, she is attending SUCCESS Academy, an early-college charter school on the SUU campus, for half the day, and that school suits her abilities well. So, overall, we feel like we've gained as much as we've lost by moving here. We feel like this is where we're supposed to be.
Student: Does the weather in Cedar frustrate you?
Sterrantino: Sure. I have fibromyalgia, so when the weather switches back and forth, it hurts my muscles terribly. And I forgot how much I hate the wind! And, of course, it's disappointing to wear shorts and get to teach outside one Friday and have it snow the next. However, the summers here are worth all the hassle, in my opinion.
Student: What did you primarily do after SUU until you enrolled for graduate studies in Arlington?
Sterrantino: I had my daughter, Brooklyn, three weeks after getting my BA. I decided to stay home with her full-time; as much as I love being a professor, I love being her mom more. I got to help a lot at her schools: running book fairs, teaching advanced readers, working with the PTO and other school committees. I also did a lot of volunteer work with the local Family History Center, helping others with their genealogy and also working on my own when I had the chance. I was the Assistant Director for a while and was in charge of our inventory of microfilms and fiche. I think reading old handwritten Sicilian records has helped my ability to read anything my students write, actually.
Student: You said you read old handwritten Sicilian records? Can you actually read Sicilian? Or did you mean something else?
Sterrantino: I can read a little Italian, and most of the government records I've read (birth, marriage, death records) are in Italian. I know most of the genealogical words, and I did take one Italian class. Sometimes I have to get help, when there is an old word or an actual Sicilian word thrown in there. Sicilian is very different than Italian.
Student: Why do some SUU students say you are from Purdue University? Did you study at Purdue or teach at Purdue?
Sterrantino: I didn't know students thought that. I have a link to the Purdue Online Writing Center on my websites for my classes, and I talk about that site quite a bit. It is one of the best resources for MLA formatting and other English questions. Maybe that's why.
Student: You said you are Sicilian, Italian, and Irish. My girlfriend is from Sicily and she's also part-Italian. I also have family who are part-Sicilian and I spent the first two years of my life in Ireland. Have you ever been to Sicily or Ireland? Or look forward to visiting those places?
Sterrantino: I've not been anywhere, but I hope to visit Sicily, in particular. My grandfather is from a small town called Fiumedinisi, which means "River of Dionysus". The town has a lot of Greek ruins, and essentially all Sterrantinos are from this one area, so I would love to get to go there are really get to know more about that part of my family. I would like to visit Ireland someday, too. I just know less about that family line.
Student: A few days ago, you had told me that people sometimes come up to you and speak to you in Spanish. Where did you learn Spanish?
Sterrantino: As part of my BA, I took quite a bit of Spanish, plus I had taken it in high school. I've lost a lot, since I don't have anyone to speak to regularly, but my daughter is now starting to learn it, so I'm hoping I can practice with her, eventually.
Student: Your family's from Brooklyn and your daughter is also named Brooklyn, which is an awesome name. Do you think naming her Brooklyn gave her positive affinity to Brooklyn in New York?
Sterrantino: Yes, I do. When we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge when she was 8, she thought it was her bridge (although I think my brother might have told her that when she was little, too). I also have a lot of positive memories about Brooklyn, so I've instilled those in her.
Student: Now you've lived in places with considerable cultural diversity like Las Vegas, Brooklyn, Fort Worth, Arlington, etc. Cedar completely lacks diversity. How do you get your cultural fix?
Sterrantino: While maybe not comparable with other universities, SUU does have diversity, and I interact with people from all over the world pretty much every day, be it students or faculty.
Student: My grandmother has to be admitted to Salt Lake every time she needs surgery or specialist care. Talking about fibromyalgia, how satisfied are you with the quality of medical care available in Cedar City?
Sterrantino: I'm not crazy about fibromyalgia care in general. I think there is just a lot not known about it. There are a lot of theories. Most traditional doctors pretty much just do pain management, which is good, but I like to find the root of things. I have been to the Fibro and Fatigue Center in Fort Worth. It helped with some symptoms, as well, but I still haven't found "the" answer I'm looking for. There is a great acupuncturist in Cedar City, who has helped with some symptoms. There is also a chiropractor who feels like he has some answers, but it is very expensive, so I haven't looked too far into it yet.
Student: I am sure doctors much have checked for thyroid and lyme disease for fibromyalgia. Some Asian cultures believe that deliberate, deep self-hypnotized sleep helps with fibromyalgia. Have you tried the Asian sleep treatments for fibromyalgia?
Sterrantino: I have gone through extensive blood tests for everything imaginable over the years. It takes, on average, 10 years to diagnose fibromyalgia, so typically, most of us have thick charts from doctors who check each symptom separately, before they see them as connected. People with fibro have an inability to stay in deep sleep on their own; we go in and out of it all night. I take something for that, but I'd be very interested in the Asian sleep treatment. I hadn't heard of that.
Student: What do you and Brooklyn do for fun in Cedar? I mean for recreation or entertainment.
Sterrantino: We like to go to plays. We watch movies on Netflix and play video games on the Wii. I don't have a lot of time to do it, but I am a gamer at heart. I've actually done academic presentations on the MYST game series and books. We started to go geocaching last year- a hobby I'd like to do more of, but the GPS on my phone is unreliable, so I need to get a real GPS device. We like to go to the National parks, too.
(Follow-up interview)
Student: Last time, you mentioned FWAFA in your interview. What exactly is FWAFA?
Sterrantino: I did actually spell out the name of the school, but I should have put the acronym with it the first time. It's Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts.
Student: So Brooklyn is your daughter. Do you have any other family members, and if so, what do they do? Any dogs, cats, birds, any other pets?
Sterrantino: It's just me and Brooklyn and two dogs, Blue and Shadow.
Student: Tom told me you are a convert to the LDS Church and you converted several years ago. Congratulations!! Is it different being part of a small branch outside of Utah versus being part of a large ward with several stakes in Cedar City? Many people who have lived in small LDS communities outside of Utah mention how much different it is to live in Cedar where everyone seems to be LDS. What has been your experience?
Sterrantino: Actually, we were in a regular ward in TX. There are a lot of stakes out there and the temple in Dallas. What I've seen is mostly cultural differences. In a place like TX, where the LDS community is a minority, those who aren't interested in living the principles just disappear into the community, while those who are interested tend live their religion fully. In Utah, it is not just a religion but also the culture, so there are a lot of variation on how LDS people live here, depending on if they treat it as more of a cultural phenomenon or if they are truly religious. Of course, there are always variations on that, but this has just been my observation in general.
That aside, my favorite part of the Church here in Cedar City is the fact that seminary can be part of the day in high school here (religious classes or high schoolers through the Church). I am terrible early in the morning, and I've been worried about the prospect having to take my daughter to early morning seminary since she was born! I got out of Texas just in time.
I don't mention my religion to students, because: 1. It doesn't matter to me what their religion is (or if they don't have one). 2. I don't want to make students who aren't members to feel uncomfortable in any way, especially if they feel like a minority religiously or culturally. 3. I teach freshman composition; I don't base my grading on if I agree with students or not, no matter what it is about, but on how well they argue it. I don't want them to ever wonder if their grade is affected by what they believe, because it isn't. Likewise, students who are LDS don't get any preferential treatment from me in class or in their writing. It's just about how they argue.
Student: How big is geocaching in Cedar City and where in Cedar do you play this game? I for one am not familiar with this game and I suspect many students know nothing about geocaching, so what can you tell us about it?
Sterrantino: I don't know how big geocaching is here, but there are over 220 caches in and around a 10 mile radius of Cedar City. There are 4-6 on the SUU campus! It is essentially a high-tech treasure hunt, using a GPS device. People hide caches, which can be as small as a film case or as big as a footlocker but often are shoebox-sized. Each cache has at minimum of a log inside for people to sign when they find it; often there are toys or other treasures inside. If a person finds a cache and takes a treasure, s/he must replace it with something else. The cache hider posts the cache on www.geocaching.com. Sometimes there are clues, sometimes not. The geocacher should not let "muggles" see them find the cache, which can be tricky in public places. My favorite cache of all time is one at SUU called "Turn Your Head and Cough"- it's totally worth the time to find it- very clever and funny.
Student: Is there anything else you would like to share with your students or with the SUU community?
Sterrantino: The only thing I can think of is that I'm a first-generation college student. I fumbled my way through the process, but I made it through. I always like students who are first-generation to know that I made it, so they can make it, too.
Student: One final question - do you have any family stories that have been passed down about the Sicilian Mafia that you can share with students? Are movies like The Godfather realistic or is that just Hollywood stuff?
Sterrantino: I had a student ask me this recently. My grandfather was Al Capone's barber. Capone wouldn't let him shave him though; he would only let one person shave him. Too risky, I guess.
There are rumors that my father's uncle or great uncle went by "Starr" instead of "Sterrantino" and had a lot of money but no one knew where he got it, so some think he was in the Mafia. I don't know if that's true or not.
On my mom's side, through her Italian line, she had a grandmother who was a madam and had an Italian restaurant in Manhattan as a front downstairs. One of her daughters was partying with mobsters, getting into drugs and other things, so they sent away for a husband for her from Italy, so she'd settle down.
That's all I've got for you. From what I've read on the Mafia, I think the Hollywood version isn't that far from the truth, though.
