Alumni Spotlight
UConn and Pike have given me [Anthony “DiChi” DiChiara, Phi (’01)] so much. On October 19, 2002, I met my wife Melissa during homecoming siting on the couch at the old Pike House at 219 North Eagleville Road (ironically enough, on the 15-year anniversary of the birth of our youngest daughter, Bianca!).
I truly owe everything to my time at UConn and in Pike. Those experiences and relationships got me to where I am today. I have fond memories including celebrating my first birthday away
from home with my pledge brothers (Phi class) the week of initiation, time spent at the 2004 International Convention in St. Louis, and the love felt by my brothers when my dad passed away suddenly in 2003. The entire chapter drove up to Boston for the wake.
After leaving Storrs in 2005, I attended graduate school at Virginia Tech and spent some time as a member of Epsilon Chapter (their display case for all their Smythe trophies is SICK!!). After graduating in 2007, I moved to Long Island and bounced around working at different colleges as an administrator.
In March 2010, I joined the volunteer fire service, spending a year in Farmingdale before buying our first house in Massapequa and transferring to my current firehouse, joining my father-in-law and brother-in-law in Ladder Company 2 of the Massapequa Fire Department. On Long Island, the fire departments are 100% volunteer organizations. I eventually took and passed the Nassau County Fire Marshal Exam and in 2019, I was hired off the list by the Town of Oyster Bay as a Fire Inspector/Code Enforcement Official. After 3 years, I left to take on the role of Fire Safety Coordinator at SUNY (State University of New York) Old Westbury. About 3 weeks ago, I started a new job as the Corporate Safety Manager for H2M Architects and Engineers.
In 2014, my oldest daughter Penelope was born. We would later find out that she had an extremely rare genetic disorder. She would have four surgeries before her second birthday to extend her lower jaw and repair a fully cleft palate. She also deals with global development delays. She is nine-years-old, but making awesome strides in her intensive physical therapies, where one of our goals is to have her walk independently.
From an article that appeared in the UConn Alumni Magazine four years ago, we got Penelope involved with an organization called Team Impact, that matches college sports teams with children with medical/special needs. Penelope was drafted by the Molloy
University Softball Team and loves spending time with her teammates, which we expressed appreciation through the 2023 fall issue of UConn Magazine (photo above).
Our family has faced some challenges when it comes to Penelope’s care. We have had an extremely difficult time finding appropriate after-school care for her. Coming up in March, there are plans for a major awareness campaign that I will be leading. Once it is ready to be announced, I will let share with the alumni association.
Phi phi forever! -DiChi
