Younger Generations of Italian-American Entrepreneurs
We are also able to see how figures like Giannini may have affected a younger generation's desire to make an impact on the world. Nicholas Pellerano, an Italian Immigrant who lived in San Jose, and his family are also a good example of how immigrant families were able to succeed in America. Even as first generation immigrants, the Pellerano family was very well off in comparison to other immigrant families. As an immigrant, Nicholas attended Santa Clara College, and then attended Heald’s Business College of San Francisco. Even with coming from an affluent family, Nicholas Pellerano did not have the same credibility that someone like AP Giannini or J.P. Morgan, but was still able to work his way through college and into the Bank of America where he later became the vice-president of the San Jose section. Like mentioned above, the Pellerano family is a perfect example of immigrant families who lived “The American Dream”. Nicholas Pellerano took advantage of his opportunity of attending college which led him to be successful as a banker. One interesting part about his time as a business student at Santa Clara College was how similar the course materials can be to today. Even though there is a big gap in history, as a business student it is notable that some of the course topics taught today were relevant at the time that Nicholas Pellerano studied. Here we see Nicholas Pellerano’s name on the student list for Santa Clara College in 1890 as well as a picture of a business classroom during class.