The Italian American Heritage Foundation (IAHF) was full of excitement at their annual Scholarship Dinner. Because of the generosity of their scholarship donors and the hard work of many volunteers at the IAHF a record 18 scholarships were awarded. As the scholarship recipients lined up on stage, the first thing that stood out was the diversity. One of the requirement is that each applicant have Italian ancestry in addition to stellar academic achievements. Among the many young men and women was one exceptional recipient, she was African with Italian heritage. She started her brief speech with, “I know I don’t look Italian”. The room erupted in laughter, with that she went on to tell of her Italian grandmother.
This year the IAHF added two new scholarships designated to help community college students bridge the financial gap when transferring to an accredited university.
Marie Bertola, 2014 IAHF scholarship chair, herself a native of Italy and educator at the Santa Clara University led the effort. Her goal was to communicate to these students that their community supports them, and to offer the encouragement they need to succeed in our increasingly competitive world. Marie Bertola’s only regret is that they couldn’t do more. Her determination and dedication will ensure these valuable education programs will continue to grow in the years to come. If you are interested in donating, or setting up a scholarship fund, please contact Marie Bertola at 408-293-7122.
On Tuesday, August 5th, history was made in Little Italy San Jose! After several years, a million hurdles, numerous fundraisers and an unyielding perseverance and dedication of Josh DiVincenci Melander, Little Italy San Jose Executive Director, and Debbie Caminiti, Assistant Director ground was broken on the 31-foot arch that will grace the entrance to San Jose’s new Little Italy! The ceremony that was held at W. Julian and North Almaden which will be the permanent home of the arch.
Little Italy San Jose partnered with the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce for this historic groundbreaking ceremony that will anchor the developing Italian District in downtown San Jose. The Arch is being made possible by in-kind contributions from Maggetti Construction, S&S Welding, Acadia-Architecture, J.A. Antuzzi Concrete, Della Maggiore Tile & Marble, Best Electrical, Ruth & Going, Frank Cozzitorto P.E., Agnoletti Masonry, Allied Trenching, Sherwin Williams, and Peninsula Building Materials. Completion is scheduled for the end of September.
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