Local high schoolers and college students looking for extra cash for college could close the gap with a scholarship from their state government.
The New York Conference of Italian-American State Legislators has opened applications for their annual academic and athletic scholarships. The conference offers two $3,000 scholarships in each category.
Residents of Assembly members and senators who are part of the Italian-American Conference are eligible to apply online until the application closes March 30 at 5 p.m. Nassau County residents in high school or college who are represented by Assembly Member Edward Ra, the conference’s treasurer, can apply.
“This scholarship is at the heart of what we do,” Ra said of the Conference of Italian-American State Legislators. “All of our fund-raising is to fund these scholarships. It’s just a little way to hopefully help people with the cost of higher education.”
To apply for either the athletic or academic scholarship, students must also have a grade point 85 or above, be active in their community and extracurricular activities, demonstrate financial need, and demonstrate dedication to pursuing higher education.
Applications will first be reviewed by the applicant’s Assembly member, who will then submit two applicants to a panel of educators, who select the four total winners.
Ra said he has had a few winners in his district in recent years, including in 2019 and 2023. He said he felt community involvement was one of the most important aspects of a student’s application.
There are no restrictions on what students can purchase with the scholarship money, Ra said, and students do not have to provide a report of what they spent the funds on.
“We write them a check and however it helps them in their education is fine by us,” Ra said. “There’s a lot of scholarship opportunities out there that are very limited in what you can use it for. For us, if it’s helping with tuition, great. If it’s helping with books, great. We really just give them the check so that they can utilize it for whatever they need.”
Scholarship winners will be notified in April and contacted directly. Recipients will be presented with their award at the State Legislator’s Italian-American Day celebration in Albany May 9.
