By COLIN McEVERS
On the upper floors of Choptank Hall at Salisbury University, students glanced out the window at a bright, multicolored balloon as it rose from the ground level. Some suspected that it may be a sort of birthday gesture, while others didn’t know exactly what to think.
Grasping the bottom end of the lengthy balloon string, the perpetrator is a nine year old boy who stands at about four feet tall, named Senai Venosa. “Senai” is a name with many meanings, including “gift from God” and “well-behaved.”
His father, Dr. Joseph Venosa, teaches History courses at SU.
“We’re big believers in using your workplace for fun,” Venosa said. “He’s been haunting every building for the past few years in different ways, but being that he’s autistic, he loves balloons lately, so we measure the sides of buildings and do little scientific experiments.”
The father-son duo is a staple on campus. Students and faculty alike have had the pleasure of running into the professor, whose charming New York accent and curly haired young son make an indelible impression.
“Say hi, Senai,” Venosa tells his son, who is watching as a smiley face balloon ascends the top floors of the Guerrieri Academic Commons.
Senai, though enraptured in the rising balloon, will greet the individual. If he’s seen you before or happens to like you, an affectionate “I love you” may be given.
Though Venosa and his wife had noticed possible signs of neurodivergence beforehand, Senai was officially diagnosed with autism in March of 2020, towards the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“You take it day by day and you try to accommodate to your new reality as a parent,” Venosa said. “There’s not a lot of things that I have insecurities about for [Senai], though I do have concerns as to whether he’ll be able to fully take care of himself, or what happens if I die tomorrow.”
Venosa became increasingly emotional as he described his feelings towards his son and what he’s learned as a father.
“On the other hand, I reflect on it as a historian and as a person, I also see he’s freer than a lot of people, he doesn’t have bigotry [or] burdens that other people have: he’s not gonna care about what someone on Instagram thinks of him, and there’s a freedom to that,” Venosa said. “In a way, I feel like he’s been my greatest teacher.”
Image courtesy: Colin McEvers/TheBuryPost
Maryland Maverick News 
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