As I stated on my home page, my name is Erica Venuti and I am currently a sophomore at Moravian College.  I am twenty years old and am studying to be a high school math teacher.  One of my passions in life is music.  When I was in third grade, I started playing   the viola in my elementary school orchestra.  I got into music mainly because of my neighbor Corinne.  She was a year older than me and I had always looked up to her.  When I saw that she was playing the viola, I knew that I wanted to play an instrument.  I decided to pick the viola like her because everyone else picked violin and I wanted to try something different.  As I started practicing and playing more, I realized that I really enjoyed it and wanted to get better at it.  When I was eleven years old, I decided that I wanted to take private lessons outside of school.  This was one of the best decisions that I ever made because if I never took that step, I would not have accomplished all of my achievements in the music field.  I occasionally play by ear on the piano for fun also.  An interesting fact about me that relates to music is that I have perfect pitch.

Another passion of mine that has become a very vital part in my life is tennis.  Unlike playing viola, I did not start playing tennis until high school.  When I first started, I did not think that I was going to make the team.  I had never picked up a racket and was not in the best shape.  After making the team though, I was determined to get in shape and improve my game.  When I was applying to colleges, Coach Benner contacted me and asked me if I wanted to come for an overnight visit.  As soon as I did and met the team, I knew that I was coming to Moravian and playing Division III tennis.  Since then, I have been a starting player my freshman and sophomore years.  In my freshman year, my team won the Landmark Conference Championship.  From this, we went to the NCAA Nationals for Division III tennis.  We went to Carnegie Melon University where we unfortunately were defeated by Mary Washington University.  At the end of my freshman year, I received an honor as being an Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar Athlete for maintaining at least a 3.5 GPA.  Tennis is a huge part of my life and defines part of who I am.  It has taught me how to manage my time, helped me make friends, and enhanced my college experience.

One of my newest passions that just happened this year was when I joined a sorority on campus.  I went through spring formal recruitment and joined the sorority Zeta Tau Alpha.  It consists of about fifty girls and is the third largest national PanHellenic sorority.  Our national philanthropy is Breast Cancer Education and Awareness and we have done several fundraisers to help raise money for this cause.  In the fall 2011, we held a ZumbaThon in our athletic building.  It was a lot of fun and we raised $1200.  This past spring, we did a “Girl Scouts” event where we went to one of the local elementary schools and decorated cookies with the girl scouts.  Then, we just recently had our spring fundraiser called the “Rock-A-Thon”.  For this event, each sister had to have a sponsor that would “rock” in rocking chairs with them.  We raised over $1500 dollars to donate to breast cancer.  I have recently just been appointed as recording secretary for the programming committee. 

The most important thing in my life by far is my family.  They have stood by my side through all of my ups and downs.  I do not know where I would be today without them.  They have so much love and support for me and I appreciate everything they do for me.  I am very close with my family, especially my mother.  I love her so much because I can tell her anything and she always guides me in the right direction.