Mark Colone

My parents were raised in a small mountain town in Italy. They moved to the United States when my dad was 5 and my mom was 16. They are 8 years apart and welcomed twin boys 11 months after getting married in 1960. My twin, Anthony, and I both attended college as "first gen" students and we each graduated in 4 years. My parents worked regular labor jobs, Dad on the railroad and Mom at an ice cream/burger shop. They paid our entire cost of college. My maternal grandparents traveled to Charlotte to watch me graduate at the (Bojangles') Coliseum and it was as proud a moment for me as it was for my parents. To this day, it remains an honor for me to meet that challenge.

The picture is me and my wife, Susan, who I met on campus in 1983.