The Dante Alighieri Society of Pueblo held its 38th annual Scholarship Awards Celebration, featuring presentations in Italian by each scholarship winner followed by the Little Italy Buffet and an array of Italian-themed desserts. Alegria Ribadeneira was honored as Person of the Year for her outstanding leadership in foreign language education.

Eight high school seniors received $1,000 scholarships: Toni Catulli, Central High School; Ryan Madic, South High School; Sierra Boerhave, James Gavato and Isabel Lopez, Centennial High School; Mariyah Summers, Pueblo County High School; and Keely Ann Fisher and Andrew Hensley, Pueblo West High School. Four Colorado State University-Pueblo students received scholarships for study abroad programs in Bergamo, Italy: Jennifer Franklin, Joseph Gavato, Fangying Lu and Olivia Sales.