Valentin Scognamillo '17 Recruiting Profile

    I remember very specifically when I began to appreciate the comedy of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. It was when I was 11 years old, in my hotel room in London, and my dad and I stumbled upon the Flying Circus skit called “Albatross”. In case you haven’t seen it, the skit is only about 40 seconds long, and consists of John Cleese dressed as an ice-cream girl in a film theater, holding a tray with a dead albatross on it, and repeatedly yells “Albatross!” as if he was working at a sporting event trying to sell peanuts. I guess being in Britain made me appreciate their sense of humor more, as I could not explain why I found it to be funny, it was just one of those things that for some reason, they are hilarious. When my dad and I returned to Texas a few days later, one of the first thing we did was to show my mom that skit, however the results surprised us. She didn’t find it funny. Not one bit. In fact, she seemed repulsed at not only the fact that we found it funny, but that it had 500,000 views on YouTube. At first I was seriously doubting that my mother had a sense of humor, but then I realized that she did in fact have one, she just wasn’t interpreting the skit in the same way as my father and I were. This is not because we had some biological predisposition to find Monty Python funny, it was just that my mother had a different viewpoint that my father and I had, and I was eventually able to see it the way she did, and understand the emotions that she felt while watching it, even though I still think that the “Albatross” skit is one of the best out there. This was a big moment for me, as I was suddenly able to apply the same perspective I did to my mother, viewing things from other perspectives, to more situations. It also made me realize that even simple things, like a 40 second video, can be interpreted in wildly different ways from different groups of people with different backgrounds, which can result is disastrous events occurring. Since that incident, I have been more conscious of how different events or statements can be taken by different people, causing me to be a bit more thoughtful, rather than cautious, of what I am about to say or do. This realization has facilitated my communication with others, and also my ability to act as an arbiter between two groups. I am very thankful that this epiphany came to me in something harmless, as I cannot imagine the regret that I’d feel if it happened in something more dramatic, such as the end of a friendship, yet most importantly, I am thankful that it came to me at a young age, early enough for me to put my realization to use in college and professional career as a lawyer. Also, my skills as acting as an arbiter between two or more groups, and being understanding of more people, are amplified because I live in two different cultures, an Argentinian one at home, and an American one everywhere else. Although this may seem like something insignificant, it has shaped me into who I am, and is guiding me into who I will be. This is why, I believe, I was able to identify the “Albatross” situation, and learn from it. I feel the same way about swimming in college. I don’t find it trivial that I have been swimming for more than 10 years, and swimming has made me who I am, and I want it to continue guiding into who I will be.