Growing through the ARTS Social, Prudential and Kraft, and somehow he even makes time for his own endeavors, including a digital comic called The Greatest Time of All Time. The classrooms of Renzo Ventrella ’92 and Denise Iacovone presented Mr. Greco with safe, comfortable settings where he could hone his skills and understand
“I was definitely nonchalant about my ability, but Ms. Iacovone helped me realize what my strong points were and gave me a better work ethic.” his talent. He also acknowledged the value the Cartooning and Illustration Club had for him. “That was my interest when I was first getting into art,” he said. “I would go there once a week, and we would work on publications within Xavier. We would work on our own comic as a group, and that was the first time I did that type of project.” He also credited Ms. Iacovone as being one of his earliest supporters. “I was definitely nonchalant about my ability, but Ms. Iacovone made me realize what my strong points were and gave me a better work ethic,”
he said. Mr. Greco recalled one experience in particular where Ms. Iacovone, or Ms. I, as her former students endearingly refer to her, made a real difference for him. “I was late getting my AP work together — I think I was the last one to shoot it — and I was very close to ‘having the ship sail,’ as she said. She kept her lights on while we were working to get it finished.” The faculty’s support and confidence in students helped pave the way for Mr. Greco, and certainly for many others. A judge at Xavier’s annual Festival of the Arts, Mr. Greco shared a recent revelation about the first time he saw artwork on display at a Xavier open house, when he was in the eighth grade. “I walked through the room and saw all the work on the wall. It was funny, years later, to realize that my work was there, [which] completes that small circle.” Mr. Pitula, who also attended SVA, is a designer and art director, focusing on print and web design. Recent clients have included WWE and HBO GO, and he is currently working in Oxygen’s off-air creative department. He expressed appreciation for the lessons he learned within Xavier’s fine arts program. “Xavier is a very regimented school, and there are a lot of rules,” he said. “I remember Ms. I saying, ‘Listen, it’s okay to break the rules, but you’ve got to be smart about breaking the rules. And you’ve got to think about the consequences of breaking the rules.’” He continued, with gratitude in his voice, “I think any artist needs to hear that. You can break the rules, but if you do it in an intellectual way, you’re going to have good results. I’ve taken that philosophy in my life, as an artist, to this day. I break the rules in the smartest ways possible.” Mr. Pitula has found great value in this careful rulebreaking. “I do it, and I push myself, because they need that in the art world.” Pairing talented students with inspirational, memorable mentors like Mr. Ventrella and Ms. Iacovone has proven to be a winning combination. Mr. Scerri put it this way: “Genuinely, if it wasn’t for them, a lot of us wouldn’t be where we are today.”
From left to right: Anthony Scerri ’01, Rich Greco ’03 and Ryan Pitula ’01. Xavier Magazine
17.