With bellies full of pasta topped with tomato sauce or gravy, salad, and a choice of salmon or chicken marsala, the Sons & Daughters of Una Famiglia Lodge, #2882, hosted their annual scholarship dinner on Wednesday, May 14, at Silverthorn Country Club. During the event, the lodge announced this year’s scholarship winners.
Maximo Maglio, an 18-year-old Wider Horizons School senior, was chosen as the recipient of this year’s Sons & Daughters of Una Famiglia Lodge scholarship. He was selected unanimously from a pool of three applications.
While attending high school, Maximo is also a dual enrollment student at Pasco Hernando State College and will be earning an associate’s degree upon his graduation from high school.
Maximo is the president of the Pasco Hernando State College Chess Club, practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, participated in the Pasco Hernando student government, wrestled on the Hernando High Wrestling team for a year, and has accumulated over 300 hours of community service working at Wider Horizons School. His hobbies include reading, practicing Jiu-Jitsu, playing Zooba with his friend William, and chess. He also works as an assembler at Composite Motors in Spring Hill.
Maximo’s trigonometry professor from PHSC, Jennifer Gutauskas, described him as a dedicated, self-motivated, and brilliant young man with phenomenal grades and a strong desire to learn and challenge himself.
“During our time together in my course, Max would be ever so present with enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. He would ask great questions to gain a deeper understanding of the mathematical concept. He strives to challenge himself academically, and I really admire that in him,” said Gutauskas.
After Maximo graduates from high school, he will be attending the University of Florida, following in his big sister’s steps, who just graduated from UF, to study mechanical engineering. His career goal is to become an inventor or researcher in mechatronics or mechanical engineering. He has taught himself AutoCAD and is learning programming basics.
During the scholarship dinner, Maximo read his winning essay, where he compared traditional Italian parenting, which emphasizes hard work, discipline, and strong Christian values, to modern American parenting, which often focuses on avoiding upsetting the child and using a softer approach.
“Looking back on my childhood, there were many times when I was upset with my parents when they disciplined me,” Maximo said. “I often thought that they were being unfair and unreasonable, and I am fairly certain many others raised in Italian households can relate. Looking back now, I can see that they were just doing what they knew was best for me.”
He also spoke about Italian culture, promoting a large, tight-knit family, while placing importance on helping each other grow and be happy.
“This arrangement gives Italians a healthy community and somewhere to belong,” he said.
Katie Madison, an 18-year-old Weeki Wachee High School senior, received a scholarship for community service from the lodge at this year’s Student Recognition Celebration on April 14. Madison earned the most community service hours in her school with about 1059 through volunteering at Feeding Tampa Bay, charity events, cleaning beaches and parks, and teaching special education in schools. The minimum for Bright Futures is 100 hours.
She has also earned all three Girl Scout awards: bronze, silver, and gold, was a National delegate, a national anthem singer, and a member of the Student Government. Madison founded a club at Weeki Wachee High School called Opportunity Unity, which is a nonprofit organization that advocates for disabled students and promotes inclusion.
“Throughout my high school years, I’ve always believed in the importance of giving back, whether it’s through community service or simply lending a helping hand where it’s needed most,” Madison said.
Her passion for volunteering and founding Opportunity Unity has played a key role in shaping her career aspirations.
Working alongside students in special education has given me the chance to learn so many different things and learn about resilience, patience, and the importance of making sure everyone is given the chance to succeed, no matter their disabilities,” Madison said.
After she graduates from high school, Madison plans to attend Flagler College in St Augustine to study special education and minor in theater and ASL. Her goal is to continue advocating for students with disabilities and ensure they have the resources and support needed to thrive.
In her free time away from volunteering, Madison enjoys hobbies like acting, singing, dancing, and different types of writing, including some unpublished novels, songs, and musical scripts.
During the scholarship dinner, each recipient was presented with a Dante medal in honor of Dante’s writings.
The scholarship ceremony concluded with Ray Pinder, the Superintendent of Hernando County Schools, saying a few words. He remarked that May is a busy season with celebrations and graduations. He said Hernando County schools graduate just under 2,000 students a year across the five high schools.
“In Hernando County, we educate students every day, and it’s my job to make sure that we continue to graduate students with the caliber of these two recipients tonight,” said Pinder.
