Tom's biography

My name is Michael Thomas Vassallo. I was named after my father, so I was always called Tom to prevent confusion. Until I started college, very few people knew that Tom wasn't actually my first name; when I got to school, however, all of my records listed my name as Michael. This has caused people to call me many different names - Tom, Michael Tom, or even MTV.

I was born in Philadelphia on July 7th, 1986; I've lived in Philadelphia ever since. I grew up in Roxborough, but I attended middle school and high school at Masterman in Center City. During high school I participated in video programs at the Asian Arts Initiative and at the University of the Arts; from these experiences, I knew I wanted to study film at college, with the eventual goal of making my own movies.

Right now, I am about to enter my junior year at Penn; I am majoring in Cinema Studies with a minor in Fine Arts. I recently made a semi-permanent move to University City, where I live in an apartment with two roommates and a slightly insane Siamese cat. I spend most of my spare time watching movies, reading, going to see bands, or spending way too much money at the coffee shop around the corner from my apartment.