During her senior year at the UIC College of Dentistry, Dr. Lauren Allegretti was granted a scholarship from the Arcolian Dental Arts Society. She joined the society after graduating residency in 2016, became a board member in 2020 and now will ascend to be the society’s president this April. “It’s cool,” Allegretti says. “It feels very full circle.” That she has become so involved with the Arcolian Society is even less surprising given her family’s professional history: She is the 11th member of the Allegretti/DiFranco clan to become a dentist. She attended society meetings while she was in a dental …

As the point person for Lega Serie A USA, it’s Andy Mitchell’s job to raise the profile of Italian soccer in one of the world’s most coveted markets. Since 1898, when Italians have wanted to enjoy calcio at its finest, they’ve turned to Lega Serie A, one of the top domestic soccer leagues in the world. In the spring of 2022, the Italian league opened an office in New York City and tasked Andy Mitchell with convincing more Americans to join in the fun. Calcio is the most popular sport in Italy and its national team is second only to …

Steve Schmidt’s first visit to Italy was in 2002 as part of a delegation of Elk Grove Village leaders to Termini Imerese, a town on the north coast of Sicily east of the city of Palermo. Schmidt, who was then the village’s police chief, said he wasn’t crazy about having to go. “I’d never been out of the U.S. before,” says Schmidt, an “honorary Italian” of German descent. “But once I got there I fell in love with Italy and Sicily and they had to drag me back to the plane.” So it isn’t much of a surprise that after …

Over the six years Stuart Caravello has spent with Columbian Club Charitable Foundation, the organization doubled the amount of money given to each academic scholarship recipient. Being part of the foundation’s scholarship program is the thing Caravello will miss most now that his time as foundation trustee and chairman has come to an end. “It’s bittersweet,” he says. “I need a break, but I actually love it. It’s so rewarding.” Caravello loves the feeling of giving and seeing the expressions on the student’s faces when they receive their academic grants. He first witnessed that joy at the 2009 installation dinner, …

A standout centerfielder at Bartlett High School, Josh Colaizzi has all the attributes of a pro player according to his coaches. Among all the athletic luminaries honored at the 2024 Chicago Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame ceremony gala in November, Josh Colaizzi was the only one too young to enjoy a celebratory glass of wine. Colaizzi, 17, took home the evening’s Future Star Award for all the baseball accomplishments he’s managed to rack up as a teen. Colaizzi, a centerfielder, made the Bartlett High School varsity team his freshman year and quickly established himself as a star player and leader. …

The Italian American community knows Jean Parisi best as La Befana, the good Christmas witch who made appearances for decades at yuletide celebrations throughout the Chicago area. But that’s just the tip of the cultural iceberg for this veteran community arts activist. Over the decades, she has created massive community art installations, staged plays with puppets of her own making and performed commedia dell’arte, the traditional Italian improvisational theater. She’s also taught a range of visual and performing arts to students of all ages and experiences including families, senior citizens and individuals with special needs. And for 30 years she …

For Christopher Derks, finally becoming president of the Columbian Club of Chicago is an honor … and a bit of surprise. “You work your way up through the ranks, so you know it’s coming,” he says of the presidency. “It has come a lot quicker than I was expecting.” Derks will assume the presidency on Jan. 1, but the club’s annual installation dinner has been moved from its traditional time slot in January to April 12 at Cuneo Mansion. Joining Derks as officers will be First Vice President Gerald Iannuzzelli, Second Vice President Edoardo Izzi, Third Vice President Michael Quaid, …

Steve Serio, co-captain of the U.S. Men’s National Wheelchair Basketball team, says he never thought he would have the honor of being named a flag bearer for Team USA. And yet there he was with fellow para athlete Nicky Nieves, leading the 225-member Team USA Paris delegation down the famed Champs-Élysées during the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games. “To be voted flag bearer among my peers, it’s one of the most special moments of my career,” Serio says. Serio’s career has had no shortage of special moments. As co-captain, he helped lead the U.S. men’s wheelchair basketball …

Running a large, successful non-profit enterprise has its challenges, but Chicagoland Italian American Charitable Organization President Lou Scaramuzzo says his members make his job so much easier. “The membership is so cooperative and willing to do whatever it takes to help people,” Scaramuzzo says. “They are very giving people who do exceptional charitable work.” Scaramuzzo is on his second stint as president of CIACO, having previously led from 2007-14. A member of CIACO since 2003 and a board member since 2005, he has been with the group almost since its founding in 1998. One way to track the group’s growth …