Scholarship Recipients

2015 NIABA/OSIA Scholarship
Christina J. Prejean, a 3L at the University of San Diego School of Law, has been selected as the recipient of this year's NIABA-Sons of Italy Foundation Scholarship. As well as a stellar record in law school and externships with a Federal District Court judge and a Federal Magistrate judge, Christina is also a Captain in the U.S. Air Force and served in Afghanistan. In a letter of recommendation, Major General Riccardo Marchiò, of the Italian Army, said, "[then] Lt. Prejean has proven capable of flourishing on a NATO military base in a multi-cultural, multi-national environment... She has consistently been the person my staff immediately turns to, in her office of 17 people, due to her dependability, speed in completing tasks, knowledge of her job in military and governmental Protocol and VIP visits, and optimistic and gracious attitude." Read more...  


2014 NIABA/NIAF Scholarship
Jena Neuscheler is a student at Stanford Law School in California. She is originally from Stamford, CT and holds an undergraduate degree from Duke University. Jena graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Duke, where she majored in Women's Studies and U.S. History. She interned at Women's Legal Centre in Cape Town, South Africa, co-authoring an international advocacy toolkit on women's rights. Jenna is currently co-president of Stanford Law Students for Reproductive Justice. Read more...

2013 NIABA/OSIA Scholarship
Christopher Pagliarella graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a double major in Political Science and African American Studies. As a 2010 Yale President’s Public Service Fellow, he designed and taught a free SAT curriculum for underprivileged students, raising participating students’ scores an average of 360 points. Post-graduation, Christopher worked as a management associate at Bridgewater Associates, America’s largest hedge fund. Read more...

2012 NIABA/NIAF Scholarship
Teisha Ruggiero is in her second year at Brooklyn Law School. She has an array of talent and experience that she attributes, in large part, to her family and her Italian American heritage. Teisha grew up in a small town in New Jersey, just outside of New York City. Large Sunday family gatherings and frequent trips into the city – particularly to Mulberry Street, where her parents grew up – were the staples of her childhood. Read more...

Note: These biographies were written -- and were current -- at the time the scholarship was awarded.

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