Forum Lodge #391 — Sons and Daughters of Italy in America recently awarded Anna M. Ripa Memorial Scholarships to three Aquidneck Island public high school 2019 graduates. In addition to maintaining a B average or better in their studies and intending to enter university in the fall of 2019, the applicants, who all took part in various activities and community  service, wrote essays explaining the influence of their Italian ancestry on their lives.

Natalie Huntoon of Middletown High School will major in psychology at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York, where her grandfather shined shoes for pennies in Times Square. She wrote of his being so poor, he had to deliver food on foot because his family could not afford to buy a bicycle. Natalie enjoys the gathering of her family with their Sicilian relatives. Besides her academics and playing on the girls’ soccer team, she excels in classical ballet.