Kean University’s Welcome Back Picnic

Francesca was born and raised in Sicily, and speaks Italian fluently. She migrated to the United States with her family when she was 11-years-old. Francesca did not speak English when she arrived in the U.S., but that did not stop her from continuing to be a good student. She always enjoyed learning and opening her mind to new ideas and concepts. Francesca's favorite quote is "Veni, Vidi, Vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered) by Julius Caesar. That quote doesn't only relate to Francesca migrating to the U.S., learning a new language and adapting to a new culture, but it also relates to her battle against cancer. She was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma in 2005 and completed all of her treatments in 2006. She has been a cancer survivor since then. Francesca continues to live her life to the fullest and to achieve success. She is currently a Communications/Journalism student at Kean University, NJ. Prior attending Kean, she attended Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg, NJ, where she earned her Associate's Degree in both Communications and English. Francesca is passionate about writing and editing. She has written several news and feature articles for The Tower, Kean's student newspaper, and she is currently the Head Online Editor for The Tower. Francesca is also an intern at www.thealternativepress.com, where she covers events and meetings in Westfield, NJ. Her career goals include writing feature stories for The New York Times and eventually, launching her own magazine company. When she's not busy, Francesca loves to spend time with her family and her friends. She enjoys cooking and creating new recipes, watching movies with her boyfriend and simply relaxing. After the fall semester is over, she plans to launch her own blog about her two favorite topics: fashion and food. A little advice from Francesca: "You can do anything you set your mind to."