Room 234 in McCool Hall was full of attendants last week, both students and spectators, as Paul Canonici told the stories of Italian immigrant families who moved to the southern United States for a better life many years ago. Canonici is the son of Italian immigrants who moved to Mississippi in the early 1900s to work on cotton plantations.

A Mississippi State University graduate, Canonici holds a Ph.D. in sociology. Throughout his career, Canonici held teaching and administrative positions in Mississippi schools, including superintendent of the Mississippi Catholic Schools, a post he held for 13 years. During the event last Thursday, Canonici told the stories of Delta Italian families and their pursuit of the American dream. However, this dream was not easily attainable.