Pittsfield: UNCO Chapter Awards Scholarships

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Pittsfield Chapter of UNICO National held its scholarship awards ceremony on July 23 at the Italian American Club. 
 
Since 1987 UNCO has awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships to students from Berkshire County high schools. This year The UNICO Scholarship Committee, chaired by Julia Salatino, awarded $19,000 in scholarships to local high school graduates who are continuing their post secondary education.
 
The recipients:
 
Alexandra Bills of Wahconah RHS received the The Gloria Powers Scholarship. The daughter of Mark and Teresa Bills, she will be attending UMass Amherst, Isenberg School of Management.
 
Dominic Carnevale of Mt. Greylock RHS received the Richard Rilla Scholarship. The son of Alaina Moresi and Justin Carnevale, he will be attending Westfield State University.
 
Katarena Castagna of Pittsfield HS received the Francis Fazio Scholarship. The daughter of Krystal and Tony Castagna he will be attending Roger Williams University.
 
Jake Duquette of Pittsfield HS received the Honorable Rudolph Sacco Scholarship. The son of Christopher and Alysia Duquette, he will be attending Fairfield University.
 
Kailynne Errichetto of Taconic HS receive the Edward DiAngelo Scholarship. The daughter of Stephen and Ashley Errichetto, she will be attending Westfield State University.
 
Olivia Gamberoni of Wahconah RHS received the Francis Sanginetti Scholarship. The daughter of Patrice and Anthony Gamberoni, will be attending the Eisenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.
 
John Pignatelli of Lenox HS received the Honorable Paul E. Perachi Scholarship. The son of Shannon Miller and Scott Pignatelli, he will be attending UMass Boston.
 
Christian Salzarulo of Taconic High School received the Joseph Bonaquisti Scholarship. The son of James and Gina Salzarullo, he will be attending Westfield State University.
 
Nico Sondrini of Pittsfield HS received the Louis Shogry Scholarship. The son of Peter and Tracy Sondrini, will be attending Westfield State University.
 
Ava Telladira of Pittsfield HS received the Ralph DiBlasis Scholarship. The daughter of James and Diana Telladira, will be attending UMass Boston.
 
Kaeleigh Tornicelli of Taconic HS received the James DiSimoni Scholarship. The daughter of Kimbery Tornicelli will be attending Siena College.
 
Nevaeh Williams of Taconic HS received the Mario DiMartino Scholarship.
 
Her guardian is Lori Cook and she will be attending Fitchburg State University.
 
Cameron Williamson of Pittsfield HS received the Robert Quattrochi Scholarship. The son of Wesley and Jena Williamson, he will be attending Berkshire Community College.
 
Baseball/Softball Hall of Fame Scholarships
 
Daniella Barry of Wahconah RHS. The daughter of Gregory and Lynn Barry, she will be attending Penn State.
 
Ashton Bock of Pittsfield HS . The son of Phil and Nadia Bock, he will be attending Siena College,
 
Nicholas Brindle of Pittsfield HS. The son of Paul and Laurie Brindle, he will be attending St. Joseph’s College.
 
Caleb Petruzella of Taconic HS. The son of Denise Petruzella, he will be attending Hudson Valley Community College.
 
Vocational/Technical School Scholarships
 
Damaris Escalon-Brizuela of Taconic HS received the Sheriff Thomas Bowler Scholarship. The son of Douglas Escalon and Maria Bruzcela, he will be attending Westfield State University.
 
Anthony Fiorini of Taconic HS received the John Pignatelli Scholarship. The he son of Matt Fiorini, he will be attending McCann Technical School.
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BCC Trustees Vote to Hire Hara Charlier as Next President

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Catheryn Chacon Ortega, the alumni appointment, liked how Hara Charlier easily connected with students faculty; Melissa Myers, alumni representative, also noted how comfortable Charlier was with various groups. Charlier, right, was called after the vote and accepted pending negotiations and state approval. 
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It wasn't hard for BCC's Board of Trustees to elect a new president from Minnesota on Monday.

One by one, during a special meeting at Berkshire Community College, board members expressed their conviction that Hara Charlier was the best candidate to lead after Ellen Kennedy retires. They unanimously recommended Charlier as the next president of BCC to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.

"We're not trying to hire a replacement for Dr. Kennedy; We are trying to hire our next leader," Chair Julia Bowen said.

Charlier, currently the president of Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minn., was one of four finalists identified by the Presidential Search Committee who visited the campus. She was not on site, but was called after the vote.

Catheryn Chacon Ortega was impressed by how Charlier connected with students and faculty, as well as her passion and breadth of experience.  

"As the appointed alumni, I put myself in the students' shoes when I was thinking about this, and I think I feel very represented by her, like if I come back as a student here, I think she will be a person that will be open doors to me, to my community, to the immigrant community, to everybody," she said.

Danielle Gonzalez feels Charlier has a "very" clear commitment to the community part of community college, and a deep experience of serving underserved populations, "really just with great enthusiasm."

"I think that in addition to having really deep community college leadership experience, she was able to articulate a very thorough understanding of the issues of the college of Berkshire County, of what those opportunities might look like, and how she would connect what her experience has been with how she could drive the school forward," said Julie Hughes, a newer member of the board.
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