Proud Sister

In high school, you couldn't get my younger brother Vinnie and I to acknowledge each other let alone hold a conversation for more than five minutes.

Two years removed from college, Vinnie now a senior at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y., the dialogue comes a lot easier ... and more frequently.

Besides family, many didn't give him a chance to succeed. According to them, he was a trouble maker, someone who was set up for failure.

Don't get me wrong, Vinnie was no angel. He knew just the right buttons to push to make the teachers go nuts. My parents joke that he spent more time in detention than the classroom.

The stories have become commonplace when he finds his way home for the occasional home cooked meal or the routine laundry drop off.

The academic road for my brother started off at Onondaga Community College where he flourished as a student-athlete. He was named Academic All-American and capped off his sophomore season with a national championship. From there, he found his niche at Le Moyne College. He continued his collegiate lacrosse career and is studying to become a history teacher.

Go figure.

Sitting in Tim Hortons trying to finish this post, Vinnie's former high school lacrosse coach, Mr. Leuze walked in to grab a bite to eat. The conversation naturally shifted to him.

"Did he finally call you back?" I said.

"Yeah, I talked to him," Mr. Leuze said. "He finally cleared all those voicemails. Said they were all from Patti (our mother)."

"He sounded great on the phone. I'm glad everything worked out for him."

Last weekend, I found myself at Westhill High School helping out my friend, Beth, with her junior varsity lacrosse squad. I ran into Mr. Leuze and he informed me of another story involving my brother:

"I was up at the (Carrier) Dome when Le Moyne played Syracuse and Hofstra," he said, "Vinnie sat with me in his downtime and told me school was going good and lacrosse was great. Who would have thought?"

As his older sister I never doubted him. I always knew what he was capable of, it was just a matter of time.

I'm extremely proud of my brother.