2024 Family of the Year

Some say that parenting is simply a long and slow process of letting go.

With the arrival of a newborn, parents settle into their roles of being total and constant caregivers for their child. Along the way are celebrations of milestones like first steps, first tooth, first foods and first words.

Through each phase of a child’s growth and development, parents adjust and adapt, making all the major decisions in their child’s best interest. They help to acquire knowledge, build skills and instill values, hoping to give them the best foundation for a life.

As the child becomes an adult and enters college, there is a changing of the guard. 

The gradual drip of this “letting go” process suddenly becomes a raging flood filled with giant waves of emotion, carrying with it the debris of stress, excitement and worry.

While this transition is inescapable, it is important, and often a relief, for parents and family members to be reassured that their roles are only changing and not ending. This is exactly what UofM parents Richard and Cheryl DeLisio experienced when their daughter, Gianna, became a student at the University of Memphis.

Gianna was their last child, their baby, and although they’d been through this transition before, they still felt an overwhelming feeling of anxiety. Watching her leave for college and start her own path into the unknown was a rewarding thing, yet it left them with nagging questions.

Would she thrive away from their home? Would she not need them anymore?  Would she remember the value of hard work?

As a first-generation family, they wanted Gianna to get an education well above and beyond what they did themselves. Although he did not attend college, Richard, a 24-plus year U.S. Navy veteran, worked hard to provide a better future for their children. Hard work was at the core of all the sacrifices he made, and it proved to be a centering quality for Gianna.

“All my children are very successful because of that philosophy of hard work,” Richard said. “Gianna is the one of the hardest working people I know, and I believe my service in the Navy shows through her hard work.”

Gianna chose biomedical engineering as a major because she aspired to use her love of creativity to develop innovative solutions that improve medical technology. But in the beginning, she floundered.

“When I first came to the UofM, I was anxious and did not know what to expect when it came to classes, living in a dorm or managing the new responsibilities that come with college,” she acknowledged.

Factoring in the rigorous nature of a double major in math and a minor in chemistry, there were numerous times that Gianna doubted herself when it came to the rigor of coursework.

“After getting through the first half of my first semester, I started to push past the anxiety and started forming connections by talking to students within my classes and my residence hall,” she recounts.

She had begun to flourish through her own resilience and with her parents’ encouragement and guidance.

“My parents were always there, whether by phone call, taking me out to dinner or simply buying my favorite snacks,” Gianna said.

Thinking of the unwavering support her parents had given, and their constant reminders of how hard work pays off, Gianna decided to honor them by nominating them for UofM Family of the Year.

“Though college is about the student furthering their education and personal growth, it is important to recognize the people who helped along the way,” she said. “Nominating family members for family of the year is a special way to allow one’s family to know how truly thankful you are for their support.”

Being nominated came as a shock to Richard and Cheryl.

“I think we were shocked but not surprised that Gianna would nominate us. However, actually being chosen as Family of the Year was a complete and utter surprise.” they said.

Gianna was also elated when she learned that they had been selected as Family of the Year.

“When I found out my parents were selected for UofM Family of the Year, I was excited to tell them because it was a way to thank them for their endless support and building a foundation that led me to the UofM,” Gianna said.

During Parent and Family Weekend, the family was recognized during the football game and the Family Brunch. The DeLisio’s said they loved the camaraderie at UofM football games and tailgates and enjoy meeting all the different families with various backgrounds between the game and brunch.

With encouragement in their hearts, the DiLisio’s want families who are facing their own “letting go” process to embrace the change. Richard and Cheryl both echoed the sentiment, “Our dreams should not become our children’s. Let them go out and discover this world on their own. Let them face their own challenges and make mistakes.”

Supporting Gianna from afar and seeing her success as a student has even sparked its own kind of inspiration. “Watching her become a successful young lady has inspired me to go out and not be afraid to try new and uncomfortable things,” Richard said.  

While letting go is hard, it is an act of love that always leads to living.

By Heather Hampton