Today, there are 34 days left of school for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. And though Seaholm students all have the last day of school circled in red marker on their calendars, that last day is of greater significance for junior Sergio Lanza.
That’s when Roberto Lanza, Sergio’s dad, ends his five year assignment in Detroit. His Vice Consulate job for the Italian government takes him from city to city once every five years (a consulate is like an embassy, except it’s located outside of the nation’s capital). After 15 years of moving, He goes back to Italy for a year.
At the end of this year, the 15 year period is up, meaning Sergio is moving back to Trieste, Italy after three years at Seaholm.
Sergio’s whole life has been spent in a series of homes in different cities across the US. However, that’s not where his life started.
“I was born in Honduras,” said Lanza. “I lived there until I was one and a half years old.”
It was then when Sergio developed soft tissue sarcoma (a type of cancer) in his nose. This prompted his family to move from their home in Honduras to Houston, Texas, for Sergio to get life-saving treatment at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. After a year of treatment, young Sergio was declared cured.
Sergio has a unique outlook on his past hardships. His attitude is not that of one with something missing, it’s of someone who’s been given a gift.
“He went through incredible amount of physical trauma, and he’ll never let you know it,” said David Reed-Nordwall, one of Sergio’s teachers. “Kids complain because they’re tired from homework, and he’s been through so much more than that and he never complains about anything. He’s a hero walking among us.”
“If I’d never had cancer, I can guarantee that I’d never come to the states,” said Lanza. “I’ve had a great time here.”
Sergio’s family stayed in Houston and sent him to Post Oak Montessori through the middle of his first grade year, when they moved to Philadelphia. From then on, his life has been as normal as someone in his situation could be. As can be imagined, moving so often has made certain parts of life hard for Sergio.
“It’s really hard to lose friends every five years, and make new ones,” said Lanza. “It’s hard to stay in contact with old friends. I lost my all my contacts from Houston, and I only have a few left from Philadelphia. It’s really sad.”
However, Sergio sees the bright side of moving so often as well.
“It’s really interesting to experience different cultures across the states, and it is really great to make new friends so often.”
Sergio attended Rush Valley Middle School for sixth grade. However, the end of sixth grade meant the end of Sergio’s time in Philadelphia. The first day of seventh grade at Derby was Sergio’s first day at Birmingham Public Schools.
Since he’s been going to BPS schools, Sergio has proved over and over again that he is not one to use his life history as an excuse for an easy way out to the middle of the road; instead he succeeds in spite of past adversity.
“I love playing soccer at Seaholm,” said Lanza. “I liked playing on the freshman team the best, because I got to play the game I love without having the stress of playing at a higher level of competition.”
Sergio also enrolls in highly rigorous courses here at Seaholm. He is currently taking Flex, AP Biology, Honors Physics, and Honors Pre Calculus. In addition, he speaks three languages: Spanish, Italian, and English.
“He’s a heck of a thinker,” said Reed-Nordwall. “The quality of thinking is something I really enjoy in his papers.”
However, at the Italian school he’ll attend next year, his classes will be considered average.
“Basically, the classes in Italy are harder than they are here,” said Lanza. “By their standards, I take less rigorous classes than an honors student in Italy.”
While he’s attended Seaholm, Sergio has stood out as a bright spot in people’s day. Though he has quite a few factors out of his control working against him, he makes the best (and more) of his situation. He found things he loved to do at Seaholm and perused them with passion, things like soccer, or Flex.
“I’ve had a great time at Seaholm. I love Flex. I love the style we learn in,” said Lanza. “I feel like I’m getting a higher level of education.”
As the school year draws to a close, so does Sergio’s time in Birmingham. He is beginning to prepare for a new life in Italy.
“In Italy, I’ll be enrolled in an international school, which means the teaching will be in English,” said Lanza. “In Europe, there are five years of high school instead of four. So I still have two years to go.”
After high school, Sergio has his sights set on a career in medicine, which he’ll practice in Italy.
“Once I’m out of school, I’d like to go to medical school at the University of Bologna, which is a prestigious Italian university with a great reputation for turning out good doctors,” said Lanza. “In order to get in, you need to take a university specific test. It’s kinda like the ACT, except harder.
“University is cheaper in Italy. You take the test, and if you get in, you only pay 2,000 or 3,000 dollars a term, instead of paying tens of thousands of dollars,” said Lanza. “Instead of paying your way into a university, you learn your way in.”
Sergio’s outlook on moving to Trieste, as usual, is positive.
“I’m excited to start my life in Italy,” said Sergio. “I’m ready to start my career and make new friends.”
Though Sergio will be absent from the halls of Seaholm next year, he undoubtedly left his mark in the three years he was here.
