The Italian American Women’s Center presented four high school graduates from the Class of 2025 with $1,500 scholarships during the organization’s 23rd annual Scholarship Award luncheon on Sunday, July 20, at Vivo! Bayside, located at 201-10 Cross Island Pkwy. in Bayside.
Each student was chosen by the Italian American Women’s Center’s education committee based on the essays they were assigned to write, along with their academic excellence. Applicants for the scholarship program were required to be high school graduates with an Italian heritage and who have studied or plan to study the Italian language. The 2025 recipients were Stephen Albano, Nicole DePace, Chloè Iannitti and Natalie Longobucco.
In addition to being selected based on their essays, which were written in English and Italian, these four students were also chosen to receive the scholarship based on their strong academic performances and SAT scores, as well as the extracurricular activities they perform. The awards were presented at the luncheon by Italian American Women’s Center President Vincenza Russo.
Albano, who graduated from Wantagh High School on Long Island, will be attending Hofstra University in the fall. In high school, he was a member of the Thespian Honor Society, the Alpha Theta Honor Society, the National Honor Society and the National Art Honor Society. In addition to being an honor student and posting commendable SAT scores, Albano has performed a lot of volunteer work for the Wantagh Fire Department Explorers Program. He intends to study to become a professional physician assistant.
DePace graduated from Oceanside High School on Long Island, where she was a member of the honors program. She excelled in the World Language in Italian Advanced Placement, a course offered by the American College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program. This course helped provide DePace with a thorough background of the Italian culture and language. DePace also worked as a counselor at Atlantic Beach Day Camp and as a Dancer in a DJ Place Experience. She will be majoring in psychology at Penn State University in the fall.
Iannitti posted impressive grades and strong SAT scores at St. Francis Prep Bayside High School in Queens prior to graduating. While there, she was also President of the Italian Conversation Club and a member of the Math and Science National Honor Society. Some of her extracurricular work includes being a church choir leader, a religious retreat leader, a peer tutor, a volunteer for the Special Olympics and a summer camp counselor. Iannitti will be majoring in English at Lehigh University. She hopes to eventually study abroad and be able to teach English to kids in Italy. She ultimately wants to become a social worker or ambassador for the United Nations.
Longobucco graduated from General Douglas MacArthur High School in Levittown on Long Island, where she was a member of the Honors program. In high school, she was a Gold and Blue Renaissance Scholar and a member of the High Honor Roll, the Art Honor Society and the World Language Italian Honor Society. Additionally, Longobucco was a member of the school’s volleyball and indoor/outdoor track and field teams. She has performed volunteer work at HorseAbility, a non-profit that offers equine-assisted services for those with special needs through physical and occupational therapy.
In the fall, Longobucco will major in art education at Adelphi University, with the goal of becoming an art teacher. She also hopes to eventually study abroad in Florence, Italy. There, she would be able to study the city’s art and architecture.
The board members from the Italian American Women’s Center who comprised the scholarship selection committee included Concetta Caruso, Rose Marie Guzzo, Stella Greco Marzot and Candida Ventimiglia. Caruso presented Albano his scholarship, Guzzo presented the scholarship to DePace, Marzot to Iannitti and Ventimiglia to Longobucco.
