Triangle Sons & Daughters of Italy – Lodge 2817 – 2025 Scholarship Application
This year, our Lodge will award up to two (2) students with a $1,000.00 scholarship to be disbursed for the 2025/2026 school year. Scholarship winner(s) will be selected by May 8, 2025, and recognized at the TSDOI #2817 annual picnic on June 8. Additional details to be given to winners.
Students are eligible to compete for the scholarship if they meet the following eligibility criteria:
Must be a direct descendant of a TSDOI #2817 member (as of 12/31/24) of Italian lineage in good standing, regardless of residence. Applicant will be actively enrolled as a full-time student in post‑secondary education at a college or technical school in the fall of 2025. All scholarship decisions will be at the sole discretion of the Scholarship Committee.
Applications will be screened by the TSDOI #2817 Scholarship Committee and will be based on:
Educational quality
The essay. The essay topic must be a typewritten original essay of 500-750 words about a personal experience that demonstrated or generated pride in your Italian heritage.
Commitment to community and/or philanthropic endeavors
Overall appreciation of Italian heritage.
While not required, the applicant has the option to submit standardized test scores if the applicant wishes to do so.
Requirements for Complete Applications:
Official 2025 Application Form: Complete all information in the application form and submit with the other required items.
Resume: Please include academic and professional endeavors, community service participation, hobbies, special interests, employment, etc.
Most recently available transcript.
Essay in legible typed font.
Submission of standardized test scores is optional.
Triangle Sons & Daughters of Italy – Lodge 2817 – 2024 Scholarship Winners
Congratulations to our 2024 scholarship winners, Julia Bledsoe, and Finley Dean Wild.
JULIA BLEDSOE
Julia Bledsoe is the daughter of TSDIA Member Karen Palermo Bledsoe. Julia is a graduate of Voyager Academy in Durham. She has attained an unweighted GPA of 3.8 and a weighted GPA of 4.2.
Julia’s volunteer activities in the community have included Soccer Gear Drive, Helping out at Triangle Sons and Daughters of Italy events, Tutoring Middle & High School students in Chinese & Math, and High School Varsity Women’s Soccer Assistant Coach. Other extracurricular activities have included being Captain of Club Soccer, Women’s Soccer, Cross Country, Co-Founder of the Chinese Club, and National Beta Club.
Below are a few sentences that Julia wrote about her Italian ancestry:
Through my mother’s perseverance, and endless research, I have the honor of calling myself an Italian citizen today and have been able to experience my Italian heritage at a young age. Our family visit to my ancestral commune in Italy, concluded our visit to the town hall, where we viewed our family’s records on old parchment dating back to the 1700s. Our births and my parents’ marriage recorded, for all time, in the record books of San Donato di Ninea. I returned home feeling complete with my Carta di Identita in hand, and the history of our ancestors forever embedded in my mind and heart.
Julia will be entering Virginia Tech University with a major in classical studies and a minor in business.
FINLEY DEAN WILD
Finley Dean Wild is the son of TSDIA Member Rose Lynn Marino Wild. Finley is a graduate of East Chapel Hill High School. He has attained an unweighted GPA of 4.0 and a weighted GPA of 4.5.
Finley’s volunteer activities and work experience includes Research Intern at Duke Neurobiology, Vice President Eastainability Club, Varsity Cross Country Runner, Lifeguard, Raising funds for UNC Children’s Hospital and childhood cancer research, volunteer for church food pantry, summer immersion program in biosciences at Wake Forest University, and participating in Triangle Sons and Daughters of Italy events.
Below are a few sentences that Finley wrote about his Italian ancestry:
My grandparents brought the pasta-making tradition from southern Italy to the USA. While visiting the small town where my grandparents spent their childhoods in Italy, cavatelli keeps me connected to my Italian relatives. During my first trip there, an aunt welcomed my family by inviting us over for cavatelli. Although divided by a language barrier, cavatelli acts as a common language and keeps us connected. While most people in Italy have resorted to buying boxed pasta, I hope to promote and maintain the beauty of this tradition. Even though anyone can go to their local supermarket and buy pasts, it will never be the same unless it’s made with laughter and love around a kitchen table.
Finley will be entering Davidson College and finalizing his investigation of major and minor areas of study.
Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America (OSDIA) Merit Scholarships:
Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America (OSDIA) also awards merit scholarships. For more information please click on this link: http://www.osia.org/programs/scholarships
Donate to the Scholarship Fund
Consider making a memorial contribution in the memory of a loved one.
If a donation of $750 or more is received as a memorial, the awarded scholarship will be named after your loved one.
You can donate on-line (see links below) or you can send your donation (any amount is welcome) in the form of a check, payable to TSOI -2817 to:
Treasurer: Mary Muth 115 Beasley Court Cary, NC 27513
Please indicate if it is regular donation or a memorial donation.
NOTE on TAX DEDUCTION: “Donors may wish to treat their contribution to the TSDOI Scholarship Fund as tax deductible since the funds are used exclusively for a charitable purpose dedicated to the advancement of education. TSDOI is a 501 (c) (8) organization (EIN: 20-1478107). Under the provisions of section 170 of the Code, donors may deduct contributions that are used exclusively for charitable and public purposes. The definition of charitable purposes includes the advancement of education.”
