By Ellie Tesoro, IV Form

From Green, White, and Red to Red, White, and Blue; An Immigrant Story

Editor’s Note: Ellie Tesoro is the recipient of the 2023 Ely Prize in Public Speaking. Originally given by a member of the Class of 1892 in memory of his mother, the Ely Prize is presented to the student who gave the best speech in the Global Seminar Public Speaking Competition.

Student-Submitted Note: This is a speech written about my grandfather who immigrated from Italy during World War II and some of the challenges he overcame. The Global Seminar has a yearly speech competition which all students compete in, with 8 finalists reading their piece before the grade and one winner is picked. The 2023 ELY Speech prompt was “How was your view as a global citizen changed this year at St Mark’s and in The Global Seminar.”

Imagine having to wake up every day for the first four years of your life not knowing who your father was or if he was alive. My grandfather, Tony Tesoro, carried that burden for 1461 days. Today I am going to be telling his story and the lasting impact it has had on me and my family. The purpose of this speech isn’t to bore you with the details of how my family survived in a country completely foreign to them. It is rather on the patriotism and resilience that has been engraved into my family since my great-grandfather, Giovanni Tesoro, was first captured by the United States military 80 years ago. 

For this to make better sense I am going to start from the beginning. My grandfather Antonio (Tony) Tesoro was born on April 11, 1941, in rural Italy by the countryside. He had a mother, a sister, and a father. His father, Giovanni, was drafted into World War II in 1941 a few months before Tony was born. Giovanni was captured by the British Army and then handed over to the United States military. He served as a cook, gaining alliances as well as true friendships with both POW and American soldiers. Giovanni spoke highly about the treatment he received from his captors and always said that he was lucky. Things could’ve been much worse than they were if it weren’t for the generosity of the US.

Growing up in a small Italian-American household, family dinners are a staple for me. Stories ranging from what my brother and I learned at school to pressing political issues that we feel particularly opinionated on are regularly discussed topics. Other times it circulates around the riveting immigration story of my predecessors. Either way, I’ve never had a dull family supper. This is where I first found out about my grandfather’s immigration story. Considering his father was absent for years of his life due to the imprisonment he underwent, I was always so curious as to why my grandpa was such a die-hard American. To elaborate, my grandpa practically bleeds red, white, and blue. He is so proud to be an American, but wasn’t the United States partially responsible for his traumatic childhood? Short answer no. Long answer, it is completely unfair of me to assume that the US ruined my grandpa’s family. It was Benito Mussolini, the corrupt leader of Italy at the time’s fault. It was Mussolini’s fault for aligning his views and with that the citizens of Italy, with Hilter during the war. It was Mussolini’s fault for putting his people in a knowingly dangerous situation. My grandpa instead dreamt of becoming an American in hopes of freedom, equality, and better opportunities. At age 14 when he finally immigrated to the United States, his life was extremely challenging due to the language and cultural barriers between himself and his peers. He had to stay resilient in his studies, social life, and religion in order to not lose himself but rather grow himself as an individual. 

Over the summer we were assigned the book, We Are Not Free. This book helped to reveal the horrors behind Japanese internment camps in the United States following the attacks on Pearl Harbor. I was shocked and ashamed to read about the injustice that the United States government served to legal citizens of this country simply based on their race. After having a discussion in class I became aware that German and Italian Americans were also imprisoned during the war, but on a much less significant scale. The more research I did on this and the more discussions I engaged in during class on this topic, the more emotional I felt. Generally, I try to not let my emotions interfere with school assignments as I know my best work is completed unbiased. With that being said, I was so angry but also filled with sadness. Sadness because the country my grandpa Tony had dreamed of inhabiting had actually hurt him. Yes, they treated his father with respect in the sense that he was a prisoner of war. Yes, they had granted him citizenship, not without a fight may I add. Except, they also imprisoned a group of people solely because their leaders had fought against the United States’ ideology. I noticed the most significant change in myself when I realized that my country is not perfect. My ancestors were one of the lucky ones and they still overcame so many obstacles. Now it is up to me and my peers to continue discussing the disservice that so many immigrant families have dealt with. I must commit to educating those I see about how the United States is flawed. Our leaders are flawed. All humans are flawed. Ignoring the flaws in our world will not help the issue of xenophobia go away, it will only make it worse. Whether I bring it up at dinner, post on social media, or decide to research the topic more in-depth in future studies, I have a responsibility as a global citizen not to let these flaws go unnoticed and continue to work for change. Thank you. 

Ellie Tesoro is a IV form day student from Westborough, MA. Ellie enjoys running, going to the beach, and baking! Ellie wants to be a nurse when she grows up.