Jon Ciccone

Jon Ciccone, born in Manhattan, New York on July 17, 1991, is an adventurous, courageous, creative, sports fanatic, one of a kind guy. While Jon was growing up, Jon’s parents, Bruce and Liz Ciccone, had a handful. As a child, there seemed to be nothing that him and his close buds would not try. They played games in Jon’s room that ranged from Dodge Ball, where they would throw at each other whatever they could find from socks to encyclopedia books, to Room Ball, where they would use racket balls, PC pipes, and targets on the wall. Jon said, “Room Ball is similar to baseball.” Even as he got older one of his favorite memories was with his close group of friends kick boxing on the Trampoline. Jon says there were some injuries but it was well worth it. Because of Jon’s love for sports, in high school he played everything from tennis, basketball, to running cross country. Whenever he has a chance he plays any sport he can find that other people are playing and joins in. After playing tons of different sports, Jon says, “I am accident pron.” He has broken both middle fingers, had a moderate knee sprain, broken his nose three times, “has too many concussions to count, maybe around 15,” and a broken back that he didn’t know about until 3 months after it happened. It is safe to say he is very courageous and adventurous guy. Some brakes Jon is not too proud of such as getting into a fight with his younger sister, Christina now fourteen years old, and coming out with a broken nose.

Jon did a summer program at Virginia Tech called STEP, this is for Engineers to help them get adjusted between high school and college. He met one of his best friends there, Charlie Jones. Whenever each of them have any spare time, they are hanging out and playing sports such as racket ball, volleyball, and basketball. Charlie says one time both of them got all decked out in all the racket ball gear from the gloves to the goggles. Participating in that fun game together became a memory that will last a lifetime.

Not only does Jon play sports he also enjoys watching them then on television. When asked who is your favorite sports team Jon says, “I am a BIG Yankee’s fan and even gets there scores sent to me phone daily using YES, the Yankee Network.” He tries to go to as many games as he can, and watches the other ones on the television. Before the World Cup in Soccer Jon picks a team and follows that team until the end. In 2006, he picked Italy and was really happy when they actually won. For basketball he is a huge Knicks fan. Jon says, “The Knicks are terrible at basketball but they are the most fun team to pay attention to because there is never a dull moment.” Jon has been watching football since preschool and says, “That is all I watch in the fall.” Even though he likes college football better than the pros, his favorite NFL team is the Philadelphia Eagles. On that team his favorite player is Donovan McNabb and Jon says, “I was overjoyed when the Eagles got Mike Vick, big Mike Vick supporter.” His favorite team over all is Virginia Tech and that is all he watches in the fall. Some of his favorite games are Virginia Tech vs. Texas 1995 Cotton Bowl, Virginia Tech vs. West Virginia 1998, and the first game he attended in 1999 Virginia Tech @ RU and Virginia Tech won by fifty plus points.

Since, Virginia Tech is his favorite team it is no wonder why he wanted to attend Virginia Tech for college. He is actually not the first person in his family to attend Virginia Tech. Jon’s mom and her three brothers and one sister all went to Tech. That is not the only reason why Jon wants to go to Virginia Tech; he wants to be a mechanical engineer. Jon says when he was younger that he would always build crazy projects out of legos and he says that one set he used was 5,000 pieces. With this degree Jon wishes to be able to move in a big company such as GE, nothing like aerospace where it is focused in a general area.

Jon is going to Virginia Tech from out of state; he currently lives in Essex Fells, New Jersey. Back at his home in New Jersey, there are important people in his life that he truly misses. One person he misses the most is his girlfriend, Alinoel Navia. They are still dating even though they are miles apart. Jon says, “It is difficult to deal with a long distance relationship, it sucks.” She is not the only person that has supported him and influenced his life greatly. Jon’s nanny and her husband helped to teach him manners, how to talk to people, etc. Jon’s says, “My nanny influenced me, made me a better person, and really shaped who I am today.” Jon is also really close to his guidance counselor, he would go to him if he were having problems in school or outside of school. He was always there whenever Jon needed him during his high school years.

The summer before senior year, Jon went on a trip to Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand with an ambassador group. He said this was his favorite trip. In Fiji, he went to the beach, a wild life reservation, and even island hopped. He stayed in a home of a native New Zealander and was really able to experience their culture. In Australia, he toured Sydney. Right before this three week tour he was a little skeptical about it but it turned out to be the best experience of his life.

When Charlie Jones was asked to describe Jon he said it best, he said fun, outgoing, very caring, and easy to talk to guy.