| NATIONAL ITALIAN AMERICAN |
2019/2020 Justice Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. $5,000 Scholarship
This years Justice Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. Scholarship recipient:
Congratulations to Francesca Simone of Seton Hall Law School.
2019 Recipient
Francesca Simone, Seton Hall Law School
Francesca earned her BA in history and minor in Italian from Ramapo College with magna cum laude. After graduation, she had the honor of serving as Hon. Ned Rosenberg’s paralegal, where she assisted him in his alternate dispute resolution practice. She is now a paralegal at a boutique law firm, where she works alongside attorneys in a variety of cases. Some of the practice areas include: civil litigation, internal investigations and compliance, white collar criminal defense, and employment litigation. Francesca also assists the attorneys at the firm who participate in the District of New Jersey's CJA Program, which provides representation in the federal court for any person financially unable to obtain adequate representation in accordance with the Criminal Justice Act. Francesca currently attends Seton Hall Law School, where she will receive her MSJ degree in financial service compliance, as well as her JD degree. Francesca also speaks Italian and teaches Zumba fitness.
2022 - Francesca Simone wrote a legal research article on Italian American Congressman Peter Rodino and how his Italian heritage influenced his legislation, particularly immigration reform and Columbus Day. Most of the research is from the Peter Rodino archives at Seton Hall Law; no one has ever written a paper using them before Francesca. See full article here
NIABA is proud to offer the Justice Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. $5,000 Scholarship to a law student of Italian descent. We will notify the law schools when this scholarship becomes available again.
NIABA/OSIA Scholarships
Each year, NIABA is proud to offer -- from the Anthony and Anne Rosinia Scholarship Fund -- a scholarship in conjunction with the Order Sons of Italy in America to a law student of Italian descent. The scholarship is awarded each May, and NIABA/Sons of Italy Foundation (the scholarship arm of OSIA) accepts scholarship applications beginning in late November or early December, with a deadline of February 28th. Download a PDF with complete information, or visit the OSIA website if you are ready to apply. If you have questions or would like more details, contact the NIABA Scholarship Chairperson Cristina Salmone.
The NIABA Scholarship Program is funded by donations and, if you wish to donate, you may follow the instructions at the DONATE link below.
NIABA is the proud administrator of the Anthony and Anne Rosinia Scholarship Fund, which provides annual scholarships to needy Italian American students who wish to study law. The Anthony and Anne Rosinia Scholarship Fund was started in 2011, by the Trustees of the Anthony W. Rosinia Revocable Trust, Andrew and James Pipitone, after NIABA member Anthony W. Rosinia of Arizona passed away The Trust made a gracious donation of $25,000.
2019 Recipient
Victoria Votino, Pepperdine Law School
Victoria was chosen by her peers her first year of law school for the Evan T. Carthen Award for Inspirational Leadership, which was created to honor a former student who passed away by awarding a current student who shows "leadership through example by putting others before herself, befriending the invisible person, and finding humor every day" with this honor. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in three years while serving as the chair of her student senate as a residential assistant. Victoria also has the honor of serving as the Miss America Organization's Miss Santa Clara in 2017m which was a role that afforded her the opportunity to partake in events that supported elderly members of the community, people fighting cancer, foster children, and children with health concerns.
2018 Recipient
Daniel De Cecco, Pepperdine Law School
Daniel led the campaign to pass Wyoming's first state human trafficking law in 2013 by coordinating between legislators and local and national organizations. He served as an intern with the International Justice Mission in Bolivia, working with lawyers, investigators, and community organizations on initiatives to protect children from sexual violence. He was selected as having the best submission in the Pepperdine Law Review Write-on Competition, which was published in the law review's 2017 annual volume.
2017 Recipient
Christina Dickos, Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
Cristina Dickos will be entering her third and final year of law school at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law this upcoming fall, where she serves as a chief managing editor of The Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law. She also currently represents the law school as a senator on the Inter-Professional Council, the student government for the university’s six professional colleges. This summer, Cristina will be working as a summer associate at the Columbus office of Dickinson Wright PLLC.
In the essay she wrote to accompany her application for the scholarship, Cristina wrote about the experience of learning Italian and how it has helped her professionally and personally: "Completing an Italian minor was a goal I set for myself as an undergraduate student. Now with this educational foundation, I am compelled to further my Italian language skills through real-world application. After years of thinking my Italian minor was something I would only use with my grandparents, I now have the chance to use it to assist my employer and the client in Italy. But my contribution to this client relationship will be more than just translating words. I hope to provide the client with a sense of comfort and respect as we work to more fully understand his experience through his native language."
2016 Recipient
Joseph Maligno, Fordham University School of Law
Joseph received the Best Oral Advocate Award, along with Best Opening Argument Award during the Trial Advocacy completion. He was a quarterfinalist in the 2015 Maurice Wormer Memorial Moot Court Competition. Joseph was the President of Columbian Lawyers Association and Federalist Society.
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