By Bobby Ciafardini
When Frank Parisi was a young student at Villa Maria Academy, he dreamed of one day taking to the air as a fighter pilot. He recalls drawing a picture for a class project of an F-16 with his name in block letters proudly above the fighter jet.
Today, the 23-year-old Parisi, a student at the United States Naval Academy currently in Advanced Strike Flight Training, is a shining example of someone who turned his biggest dreams into reality. He credits much of his success to Villa Maria Academy and its fitness program, which he said taught him discipline, while also instilling in him the confidence necessary to achieve his goals in life.
On Saturday, January 21, Parisi, a former grand fitness champion at the school, was inducted into the Villa Maria Academy Physical Education Department Alumni Hall of Fame, along with former grand fitness champions Ortelio J.J. Bello, Michael Dattero, Robert Crosby, Michelle Perna, and Anthony Byrnes-Alvarado as part of the school