Two Scholarship winners named
The Paolo Busti Cultural Foundation 40th Scholarship Awards Dinner will be held on Tuesday, June 4th at 6:00PM at Batavia Downs.
The Foundation is excited to be able to celebrate their heritage together in a wonderful evening of friendship, pride and of course a delicious Italian food being hosted by Batavia Downs.
Tickets are $35.00 and may be purchased from board members and at Ben’s Appliance, 634 East Main St. Rd., Batavia, NY.
Scholarship Winners
Julia Clark
Julia Clark a graduating Senior at Batavia Senior High School, daughter of Paul and Patricia Clark. She will be attending Mercyhurst University, with a double major in Business and Intelligence studies. Julia will be playing softball for Mercyhurst.
A member of the National Honor Society, student government, National Art Honor Society, Key Club, Lend Crew, Genesee Youth Lead and a hostess in the Mr. Batavia Challenge.
Julia has been awarded the Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglas Award from University of Rochester, Scholastic Scholarship Awards for all four years of High Schools, Athletic Awards in softball, basketball, flag football, travel baseball, the Chick-fil-a Player of the week for flag football.
Community service is a big part of Julia’s life. She serves at Soup Kitchen at Ascension Parish, Youth softball camp, concession stand for football and Genesee Youth Lead.
Juila states, “Growing up Italian American, one often acquires a rich tapestry of values that are deeply woven into the cultural fabric!” She believes the family serves as the cornerstone of life. She expresses the Italian American work ethics are often coupled with a zest for life embodies the Italian concept of “La Dolce Vita.”
Andrew David Strollo
Andrew Strollo is a student at Le Roy High School, son of Jeff and Jessica Strollo. He will graduate this spring Summa cum laude. He is member of the National Honor Society, Deca, Knights Media and the Scholastic Bowl. Andrew will be attending the University of Rochester and will major in Finance while also playing football for the U of R. Playing collegiate football has been a dream of his since childhood.
Andrew participated in football, indoor track, outdoor track, and baseball. He has volunteered as a Peer Counselor during his years at Le Roy H.S. and has aided students in learning the skill of bowling and basketball. Andrew also volunteered at the Community Kitchen, youth football, Little League, Knight’s Closet and Genesee County Fair.
Andrew received the Citizen Award for assisting students with special needs, Earth Science, Above and Beyond, Knowledgeable Knight Award and Mock Trail.
“Growing up in an Italian household comes with faith,” Andrew stated. A bible verse he lives by is Proverbs Chapter 16 Verse 3 – “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plan.”
Andrew believes the values he has acquired in his 17 years will continue to guide him through college and adulthood. This will be the driving force in all that he does when raising a family, to keep memories and this beautiful Italian culture present and thriving.
The Foundation is pleased to dedicate the evening to one of our Foundation’s Founders, Vito Gautieri. Together, with the first board of directors, Gautieri worked diligently to create the Batavia chapter of the Paolo Busti Cultural Foundation.
Through many fundraisers, the Paolo Busti Park, alongside the Holland Land Office Museum, was created.
A monument engraved with the founding founders can be visited there. Link Paolo Busti Monument Historical Marker (hmdb.org)
Vito J. Gautieri is a Business Owner, Patriarch of a large extended family, a current member of Paolo Busti Cultural Foundation and one of their original founding members.
Vito was born in1931, in Batavia, to John & Lucia (Ceretta) Gautieri, both from Calitri, Italy, Province of Avellino, near Naples.
His parents came to Batavia in 1920 and had 6 children, Michael, Margaret, and Vincent and after Vito, they had two more daughters, Virginia, and Serena.
All the Gautieri siblings were successful in opening various businesses. Vito spent his career in Development and Construction. His companies have been in business since 1954. Still attending the weekly construction meetings, he has not yet retired.
Vito’s 6 grown children, and many grandchildren, still celebrate holidays and Sunday dinners with all the traditional foods and activities. Sunday sauce, Ravioli on Thanksgiving, Fish every Friday, the Seafood feast on Christmas Eve…are all favorites of the ever-growing Gautieri Family. A great-granddaughter is due in June.