The Italian Cultural Society of Washington D.C. Awards & Scholarships



 

The Italian Cultural Society of Washington D.C. Awards & Scholarships

The Italian Cultural Society (ICS) sponsors a variety of special awards to honor Washington, D.C. area elementary, high school and university students who excel in the study of Italian language.

Other award categories acknowledge excellence in Latin/ Greek, piano performance, painting and art.In addition, there’s an award for a student of Italian under the age of 31 and a Young Scientist Awardfor an Italian national under the age of 36 Italian who excels in physical, biological or medical sciences, mathematics, or engineering.

Awards are made possible through donations and fundraising events. If a donor wishes, ICS can create and name a new award, perhaps as a memorial or to honor a cause. To make a donation, please contact our office, 301-215-7885. The Italian Cultural Society of Washington, D.C. is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. All donations to ICS are 100% tax deductible.

The Awards will be presented at the prestigious ICS Awards Gala at the Embassy of Italy to be hosted late spring, 2019. Attendance at the Awards Gala is a requirement of receiving an award, with the exception of the Cesarina Horings Award. Awards will be reassigned if the winner is unable to attend, except under exceptional circumstances as determined by the ICS Awards Committee. The winners of the Luciana Montanari-Mendola award may be asked to perform at the Awards Gala.

Award Application

All ICS Award applications must be postmarked by Monday, April 23rd, 2019. The ICS Awards Committee oversees the selection process and will announce the winners. Awardees will be acknowledged the ICS newsletter Poche Parole and on the ICS website. Additional information on each award is noted below. Applications should be sent to:

The Italian Cultural Society, Awards Committee
4833 Rugby Avenue, Suite #201
Bethesda, MD 20814

 

Italian Language Awards for University Students

 The Cesarina Horing Awards honor students at three prominent universities in the Washington, D.C. area that offer a major in Italian: Georgetown University, the University of Maryland and Catholic University (one student at each university will receive a $500 award). In addition, students at three universities, which offer a minor in Italian: George Washington University, American University, and George Mason University (one student at each of these universities will receive a $300 award). The awardees are selected by the Departments of Italian at the respective universities. Awards are funded by donations in honor of former ILP director, Cesarina Horing.

Our special thanks to the 2018 Donors:

  • Bruce Esposito, Treasurer of the ICS Board
  • Stefania Amodeo
  • Nina Luzzatto Gardner and Francesco Olivieri’s fundraising event at their home, which included a homemade dinner and book presentation by author Maria Ohanesian Nardi

2019 Cesarina Horing Award donors:  

  • Bruce Esposito, Treasurer of the ICS Board ($2,500)

Italian Language Awards for High School Students

The Maria Guarrera Wilmeth Award honors two outstanding students from a Washington metropolitan area high school in which the study of Italian language is part of the curriculum. The award provides $500 each for each student.

To apply:

  • Applicants must write a letter by hand, which includes a short biographical overview and expresses their interest in studying Italian.
  • Provide a letter of recommendation.
  • Provide a creative video of two to three minutes. The student(s) must speak Italian in the video on a topic of the student(s) choice, such as a cooking demo, a theatrical presentation or simply talking about a subject of their choice.
  • The winners will be expected to accept the award the ICS Gala at the Italian Embassy late spring of 2019 and to provide some brief remarks in Italian when accepting the award.

Our special thanks to the 2018 Donors:

  • Francesca Casazza, ICS Executive Director and Board Member

2019 Maria Guarrera Wilmeth Award: ICS needs funding for the 2019 Maria Guarrera Wilmeth Award. To make a donation, please call our office, 301-215-7885.

 

ICS Scholarship for Elementary and Middle School Students

Students who are interested in taking an ICS course may apply for a scholarship to take an ILP class for free. The scholarship can be used to enroll in any suitable course of the ICS Italian Language Program. To apply:

  • Applicants must send a handwritten letter indicating the ICS course they would like to attend and a brief description of their interest.
  • A parent or guardian must provide a letter of support that indicates their ability to provide transportation to ICS classes.
  • The child’s elementary or middle school teacher must submit a letter attesting to the student’s academic ability. Please click here to see the schedule of classes for the choices available.

Our special thanks to the 2018 Donors:

  • ICS Italian Language Program

2019 ICS Scholarship for Elementary and Middle School Students:  ICS needs funding for the 2019 Elementary and Middle School Scholarships. To make a donation, please call our office, 301-215-7885.

 

ICS Award for students under the age of 31

  1. The Elena and Antonio De Luca Award honors one university student who has excelled in the study of Latin and/or Greek with a $1,000 award.
  1. The Luciana Montanari-Mendola Awards provides one $1,000 award for a university or conservatory student showing promise in pianoperformance, and one $500 award for a high-school age pianist showing promise in piano performance. Examples of recordings must accompany your application and must include one piece for solo piano by Frederick Chopin.
  1. The Anna Menapace Award provides one $500 award to a high-school student who excels in the art of painting.
  1. The Patricia Segnan Award provides one $1000 award to a university student who has excelled in the creation of Art or the study of Art and Art History.

Required application material for the aforementioned awards numbered 1 through 4:

    • College transcripts or, for high school awards, high-school transcripts
    • Three letters of recommendation
    • An essay in Italian written by the applicant describing why the applicant is a valid contender for the award.
    • A short biographical presentation of the candidate (curriculum vitae)
    • Other documentation that demonstrates the ability of the candidate, such as publications by and/or about the candidate, photographs, CDs, a portfolio of works, etc.

 

ICS Young Scientist Award (under the age of 36)

The Italian Cultural Society recognizes the accomplishments of Italian scientists working in the Washington area. A $1,000 award is to given to an Italian national working in the Washington area as a doctoral student or as a post-doctoral student or an equivalent (e.g., in connection with NIH, NIST or with NASA or a university) in the physical, biological or medical sciences, mathematics, or engineering. The applicant must provide evidence of having distinguished him/herself in research while working in the United States. To be eligible, applicants must not have reached their 36th birthday by May 1, 2019. The deadline date for the application is Monday April 23rd, 2019.

Materials to be included in the application for the Young Scientist Award are:

    • A document verifying the Italian (or American) university degree held by the applicant
    • A cover letter in English or Italian describing why the candidate is a valid contender for the award
    • A short biographical presentation of the candidate (curriculum vitae)
    • Three letters of recommendation from superiors knowledgeable with the work of the applicant, at least one from an American
    • Evidence of excellence of work in the U.S., e.g., list of publications, patents, or other equivalent documents