The EDU 280 Portfolio Artifact #1

Personal Cultural Project

Deanna Onori
 My family origin is from Ireland, at least on my dad’s side. I am not sure on my

mom’s side as we didn’t celebrate many traditions. My maiden name was Hogan, which

originated in Ireland. The only language spoken as I grew up was English. I grew up in

San Diego, so I was introduced to Spanish, however, I never learned it or was around it

long enough to be impacted by it. My grandfather always celebrated Irish traditions and

when St. Patrick’s day rolled around, there was always a

party. Of course corned beef and hash was served, but I

was never brave enough to try it. Other traditional holidays

celebrated by both sides of my family were of course

Christmas and Easter. We celebrated these from a

religious point of view.

My mom’s side of the family was primarily Catholic, while my dad's side was

Christian. When it came to religion, my mom was the one who took us to church, so we

had the experience of baptism as an infant and first communion around fifth grade.

Shortly after my first communion, my mom

switched us from the Catholic Church to a

Non-Denominational Christian Church. At that

point, we became more involved in the church and

that has become a huge part in my life as I

continue to raise my children in the Christian

church, now serving as leaders in the children's ministry.

 As a child growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, there were many critical events that

happened. I will always remember sitting in class watching the Space Shuttle

Challenger take off, and then it was gone. It was one event I will never forget because it

was such a huge moment that we all sat and anxiously

watched. Within seconds, the explosion happened and we

went from anxious to a state of shock as we watched the

pieces fall from the sky. In addition, this was the decade in

which the Berlin wall fell. This was a huge event that

signified the end of the Cold War. I also feel that the

introduction of MTV (Music Television) was one of the most influential pieces of my

younger years. This would be, in my opinion, similar to tik tok for the kids today. I

remember sitting for hours and watching videos and dreaming of being in a music video

someday. This is where our fashion statements came from. Two of the most memorable

superstars for me are Cindy Lauper and Madonna.

My mom’s side of the family is all about singing and entertaining, so at almost

every family event there was some sort of entertainment and karaoke. This became a

sort of hobby or tradition for us. This led to a love of drama and acting for me. I was

heavily involved in high school with the drama club and then as an adult, I led and

directed musicals for the kids at church. In addition to that, I grew up around sports. My

brother played soccer and baseball and my dad coached. I played soccer and softball

until highschool where I also found a love for volleyball. After I married my husband, we

joined multiple adult leagues together. Our children followed our footsteps and wanted

to play sports as well. Our oldest daughter plays volleyball and my youngest daughter
plays soccer. This developed into a hobby for me as I enjoy

watching my kids play and it has become my favorite thing to

do. We travel all over for tournaments. I took on the

responsibility of managing both teams which took a lot of my

free time. I did this to become as involved as I could as my

husband also coached volleyball. For the last ten years, this

has been how our family spends our weeknights and

weekends. When we had a free weekend, which was rare, we

spent as much quality time together as a family.

Growing up, I was always surrounded by family. This included cousins, aunts,

uncles, and grandparents. We were always there for each other and that is the way that

I have raised my kids. Even though my immediate family has moved away from where a

majority of our extended family lives, we still continue to have family dinners every week

and spend as much time as possible together. My worldviews are difficult to share. In a

world where everyone is offended by almost everything, I tend to keep my views to

myself. My goal is to raise my children with a foundation in the Christian Church. I want

them to follow the bible and the laws God set for us. I want to make sure that they

understand that it is not our job to judge anyone. In addition to my religious beliefs, I am

also married to an Army Veteran that has instilled many military values in my children

and myself. This includes integrity and respect.