BY SOFIA MONTAGNA
On June 26, the Kiwanis Club of Maspeth held a luncheon at Maspeth Town Hall to celebrate its annual scholarship recipients alongside recipients’ parents and other community members. The club awarded scholarships to 15 local students, each of whom received $2,000 to help cover college tuition costs.
This year’s scholarship recipients include Kate Caiafa, Victoria Da Silva, Lillian DeVivo, Keira Dillon, Jaden Farillas, Victoria Grodzki, Kayla Hauer, Joseph Hoermann, Gianna Larida, Soren Larson, Melody Leon, Xinrui Lin, Karolina Olszowka, James Pepe, and Liam Sweeney.
Scholarship Program Chairman of the Kiwanis Club of Maspeth Scholarship Foundation Michelle Masone commented, “We think it’s important to support the young people in the community and to help them achieve their next level of education. It’s a little something that we can do to help our local students be the best they can be.”
This year’s scholarship recipients come from a variety of different high schools, including High School of Art and Design, Francis Lewis High School, Archbishop Molloy High School, and The Bronx High School of Science. However, all scholarship recipients are required to reside in the Maspeth district (which includes some parts of Woodside, Middle Village, and Elmhurst).
Tom Rudzewick, Kiwanis Club member and President and CEO of Maspeth Federal Savings, spoke about the event. “It’s great to see a room full of people that all are focused on the youth and all trying to find a way to make sure that our young people become leaders of their communities, and part of that is giving back, as the Kiwanis Club does every single day,” he said.
Michelle Masone further noted, “There are very successful young people in our community, and we want to try and uplift them to their fullest potential.”
This year’s scholarship recipients are attending a number of prestigious colleges, including the University of Virginia, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York University, and the University of California Berkeley. Masone noted that although the Kiwanis $2,000 scholarship can’t cover all of a student’s college expenses, it can help them pay for all of their books and take some of the pressure off paying for college.
Michael Falco, a former Kiwanis Club scholarship recipient who has held the position of president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary throughout his 43 years of membership in the Kiwanis Club, said, “The members [of the Kiwanis Club] are really proud to be doing a lot of community services. That’s what the Kiwanis Club is all about.”
