As most of us know, the Society awards a scholarship each year to two deserving students who have demonstrated academic excellence as well as a keen interest in the Italian language or in Italian studies. Our Society partners with the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) to sponsor the two scholarships. During the month of April, the AMHS Scholarship Committee conducted its evaluation of the applicants and in May it advised NIAF of our selections. Now that all of the candidates have been notified, we are finally pleased to present this year’s winners to the AMHS membership: they are Francesca Minicozzi and Kathryn Donati.

The Scholarship Committee selected this year’s winners from the largest and most qualified pool of applicants it has ever received. As a result, the Committee members – Peter Bell, Lucio D’Andrea, Ray LaVerghetta, Romeo Sabatini, and Lourdes Tinajero – had to do a lot of careful analysis before making its final decision. The selection of this year’s winners represents the best judgement of the Committee, which had to reconcile two opposing realities: the number of scholarships available is two, while nearly every one of the students who applied truly deserved to be a winner.

This year’s winners will be honorary members of the Society for the calendar year 2019. The AMHS President will invite them to attend one meeting as the Society’s guest, at which time they will address the membership and tell us about themselves, their studies and interests, their plans, and their relationship to Italy.

The winners

Francesca Minicozzi is currently a sophomore at Loyola University of Maryland, where she is majoring in Biology and minoring in Italian Studies. Her Italian roots are on both sides of her family: her maternal grandparents immigrated to America from Sicily, while her paternal great-grandparents also came from Sicily and Puglia as well. After her university studies, Francesca plans to attend medical school and become a pediatrician. She began to deepen her relationship to her Sicilian roots while in high school, visiting the island every year during her high school years and re-connecting with her family members there.

Kathryn Donati is starting her third year at the College of William and Mary, where she is a double major in English and Italian Studies. Her Italian roots are on her father’s side, and they trace to the region of Trentino-Alto Adige. At the present time, Kathryn is considering pursuing either a graduate law degree with a concentration in international law or a career in the Foreign Service.

Letters from the Winners

The two winners have written to the Society to express appreciation for their scholarships, and we re-print the letters below:

Dear Abruzzo Molise Heritage Society:

I want to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for your generous $4,000 scholarship. I was truly honored to learn that I was chosen as a recipient of the 2018 NIAF Abruzzo Molise Heritage Society scholarship. Most people who know me recognize how much I love the Italian culture and language, and it gives me great joy to receive this scholarship. As a scholarship recipient, I know I am making my Italian family proud, but most importantly my Nonna. She came from Sicily all by herself to America in search of a better life. Now many years later, my hard work and dedication has led me to receiving this scholarship in her honor. I know she would have been very proud of the woman I have become.

I sincerely thank you for your generosity as the past few years have been difficult for my mother and me. In May 2016, my father passed away from Stage 4 Lung Cancer and my mother and I were heartbroken. It has been difficult for us to get by, but we were doing our best. This scholarship greatly helps us with the financial burden of college tuition.

I will begin my sophomore year at Loyola University Maryland in the Fall with a major in Biology following a premed track, along with a minor in Italian Studies. By awarding me the 2018 NIAF Abruzzo Molise Heritage Society Scholarship, you have greatly lightened my financial burden, which allows me to focus more on the important aspect of school – learning. With this scholarship, I am a step closer toward my dream of becoming a pediatrician.

Thank you again for your generosity and support. Your kindness has inspired me to help others and give back to the community. I hope that one day I will be able to help students achieve their goals, just as you have helped me achieve mine.

Sincerely,

Francesca Minicozzi

Caro Abruzzo Molise Heritage Society:

I am writing to express my gratitude for the generous scholarship awarded to me by your Society. My ItalianAmerican heritage is extremely important to my sense of identity and has recently become a vital part of my academic pursuits. As such, your support of my studies through this scholarship is deeply appreciated. Your incredibly generous scholarship will be used this upcoming spring of 2019 as I spend the semester studying abroad in Perugia, hoping to further my studies of Italian language, history, and literature.

When I entered university at the College of William & Mary, I knew that I wanted to study English literature, which had been by far my favorite subject throughout my years at school. What I did not anticipate was how interested and invested I would become in the Italian Studies Department of the College. Learning to read, write and speak Italian was the first of many stepping stones toward fully embracing this part of my culture that I had never previously appreciated in such a manner. Now, I am double majoring in both the English and Italian Studies departments and my education would feel incomplete without my Italian courses.

I grew up aware of my Italian heritage but did not consider it a major part of my identity until recently. While I was living overseas during my time in high school, I did not feel wholly true to who I am by identifying myself as simply American. I added the Italian part to my identifier and have not looked back since. As a proud Italian-American, I spent the better part of my recent spring break extensively researching our family tree. The Italian roots of my family are a paternal lineage that can be traced back at least six generations to my great-great-great-great grandfather Benamato Donati. My family has its origins in the Trentino-Alto Adige region of northern Italy and though I have explored Venezia, Firenze and Roma, I cannot wait to return to Italy and explore this region of my ancestors.

The opportunity to study Italian culture, language, and history in an academic context with such a deeply personal connection has added so much value to my education that I could not imagine my time as an undergraduate complete without it. As I look to the future and the possibility of pursuing a law degree with an international focus or joining the Foreign Service and working for the State Department, my Italian studies and heritage factor heavily into these decisions. It is with the support of organizations such as the NIAF and the Abruzzo Molise Heritage Society that I look forward to the future of being an Italian-American professional giving back to our community.Grazie mille to the board and all the members of the Abruzzo Molise Heritage Society,

Kathryn Donati

INTRODUCING THE WINNERS OF THE 2018- 2019 AMHS/NIAF SCHOLARSHIPS

ALONG THE SHEPHERD’S TRAIL

AMHS NOTIZIARIO September 2018