Rockland Sons of Italy Lodge 2176 Awards Scholarships to Area Students

From the Rockland Sons of Italy:

(Rockland) – The Rockland Sons of Italy Lodge 2176 awards scholarships at the end of each school year to students in Rockland County who have excelled in a particular area and demonstrate a strong ability to continue on to a successful college career.

On May 18th they presented the following awards:

Charter Member Award for Academic Excellence: John Fasano of Clarkstown High School South going on to study at Pace University in the Fall.

Michael LoRusso Award for Community Service: Julianna Violetto of Tappan Zee High School who will attend Ithaca College in the Fall.

Gennaro Gentile Memorial Award for Individualized Education Program Achievement: Sabrina Verdicchio of Pearl River High School who will attend Rockland Community College in the Fall and Haley Clement of Clarkstown High School South who will go on to Major in Business of Fashion at LIM in the Fall.

Fred Sica Memorial Award for Outstanding Future Business Leadership: Gregory DeCola of Tappan Zee High School who is graduating with a 96.84 GPA will attend SUNY Binghamton in the Fall and major in Theater and Business.

Joseph Scaringe Award for Athletic Dedication: Alana Prosapio of Nanuet High School who will major in Elementary and Special Education at the University of Delaware in the Fall.

Joseph Sorce Memorial Achievement Award: Tia Fasano of Clarkstown High School South who will attend Pace University in the Fall and major in Criminal Justice.

John DeSimone Award for Excellence in Italian Language: Andrew Galanter who is graduating with a 101.489 GPA from Tappan Zee High School and will attend NYU in the Fall and major in Film and Television.

The dinner and presentation took place at the Lodge location on Van Wyck Road in Blauvelt, NY. On hand for the event were Lodge President Greg DeCola, Jr., Dr. John Bosso and Dr. John Guglielmucci and Richard Sica Co-Chairman of the Scholarship Awards Committee for Lodge 2176, Professor Donna Chirico, Dean of York College at CUNY who presented the Keynote speech for the evening, as well as Lodge members, teachers, parents and family members of the winners.

The Rockland Lodge 2176 of the Order of The Sons of Italy in America was established in 1966 with the goal of enhancing the image of people of Italian descent and has grown into one of the most active organizations in the area. In addition to giving scholarship to students, funds raised through various events are donated to a variety of charitable organizations in and around the area. For more information visit www.blauveltsonsofitaly.org or visit them on Facebook here.

Photo Credit: Risa B. Hoag

Left to right front row students: John Fasano, Tia Fasano, Haley Clement, Greg DeCola, Andrew Galanter, Alana Prosapio, Julianna Violetto, and Sabrina Verdicchio.

Back row: Greg DeCola, President of the Lodge, Richard Sica, Dr. John Bosso and Dr. John Guglielmucci