Name: Corinna Vitorelli
Hometown: Roseville, MI
Major: Elementary Education

Although the role of a soldier’s wife can be understandably difficult, Corinna Vitorelli says she has learned to deal with life in the military one day at a time. In fact, when she and her husband relocated to Fort Bragg from Roseville, MI, she quickly adapted to Southern culture. She expressed, “I miss my family, but I don’t miss the cold winters. I like the diversity in Fayetteville, and people in the South are a lot friendlier and polite.”

In the past fifteen months, Corinna’s husband has visited home for only two weeks since he’s been deployed in Iraq. Surprisingly, Corinna maintains a positive outlook while her better half is courageously serving the country. She offers the reason for her worry-free attitude, “I knew what I had to do when I married him, so I just take it as it goes. I take one day at a time and try not to look ahead too much because then I’ll get discouraged.”

But one matter to which she does “look ahead” is her education. With a strong desire to be successful in achieving her career goals, Corinna began her path to higher education at Fayetteville Technical Community College, but after learning of a scholarship opportunity at Fayetteville State University she jumped at the chance to enroll in a four-year institution.

She explained, “I applied for the honor’s program, submitted an essay, took my SAT’s and eventually, I was awarded the scholarship.” Corinna admits it was a bit of challenge tackling all of the above, but she says declaring her major was perhaps the easiest step in the entire process.

The future educator revealed, “I’ve always craved school whether it was ‘playing school’ with my cousins or my stuffed animals. In elementary school I always had good teachers, and they always inspired me to teach. They made the job look so fun, and they made learning fun. I would love to have the same impact on someone else.”

Since she’s been at FSU, Corinna has not only been captivated by the “pretty campus”, but she appreciates the friendly atmosphere as well. She stated, “There is always someone willing to provide help when you need assistance. One way or another, your questions will get answered. Also, my professors have been really flexible. If you establish yourself as a good student and behave like an adult, they are willing to help you out even more. I have learned that you have to give a little to get a little.”

When asked how she copes with being a responsible student and maintaining a home front, she answered, “I study a lot, so school keeps me very focused. I worked extra hard to get the scholarship, and I’ve really have to hold my own. Not only do I have to come to school, but I have a household to take care of. To balance it all, I pace myself and tell myself that school is my priority.  I try not to stress about it because I know I can always postpone my household duties. I advise others who may be in a similar situation to never give up on your dreams because if you push hard enough, they will come true.”

In the meantime, this FSU sophomore is eager to finally witness her vision materialize. She asserted, “I have always known that I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. I look forward to actually teaching and learning how to create daily lesson plans. It will be fulfilling to see the results of working with children.”