Profiles

A 21-year-old college student and lawyer-to-be from Illinois is looking forward to a September trip to Rome, Florence and Venice as part of her prize for winning the Miss Italia America pageant. Olimpia Giacalone, 21, a native of Norridge, Illinois, is majoring in English with minors in Italian and philosophy from Loyola University Chicago, from which she expects to graduate in May 2024. She is a graduate of Saint Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Giacalone was crowned in March in Miami. She entered the pageant because she thought it would be an exciting experience after participating in the …

Viewing her connection to her Italian heritage as a superpower, Dolores Alfieri has devoted most of her professional career to celebrating those strong ties. From working as director of Italian affairs for the Office of the Governor of the State of New York to co-developing a podcast that celebrates the Italian-American experience, Dolores Alfieri’s professional and creative endeavors are a testament to her belief that a strong connection to one’s heritage is “a superpower.” Alfieri was instrumental in securing a place on the National Register of Historic Places for the Columbus statue in New York City’s Columbus Circle. Her work …

A standout running back at St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, Vinny Rugai eschews social media while he works to perfect his football skills. Vinny Rugai is not the kind of football player who wants to attract attention and gain social media followers. Instead, the 18-year-old believes in working hard and plugging away at his goals. That attitude has resulted in Rugai first forging a path as a standout high school athlete and now as a freshman at Fordham University in New York, where he was a preferred walk-on. “I am pretty driven, but I am also one of those …

A First Lieutenant in the Army, Michael Gasparro went from training soldiers at Fort Lewis, Washington, to leading them on aerial assaults from Firebase Bastogne in South Vietnam. The oldest of two sons, Mike Gasparro was born in Chicago to Michael and Theresa Fonzino Gasparro. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Senerchia in 1917, and his maternal grandparents also came from Italy. Gasparro grew up in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, living in a two-flat above his paternal grandparents. Extended family gathered regularly to enjoy his grandparents’ homemade pepperoni, sausage and other foods. “My grandmother would make bread all year long, even when …

Donato Ancona currently serves as president of the West Suburban Chapter of UNICO National. He was elected to the post in July 2022, having previously served as treasurer and secretary. “If I had to choose one word, it would be ‘honored,’” Ancona says of his election to the presidency of the chapter. “To be nominated by the board to lead the organization along with them is special. I have been involved and I’ve helped out wherever I could from the first day I joined, and the board recognized that. I look forward to giving back to the organization and the …

Recently elected to the presidency of of the National Italian American Bar Association, Frank Sommario dedicated his career to shining a positive light on his heritage and his profession. Justice may be blind, but Chicago attorney Frank Sommario has a clear-eyed view of his duties as an American attorney of Italian descent. “I want to show that Italian Americans continue to contribute to the legal system in a positive way, despite the stereotypes that our community has endured over the decades,” he says. “It makes you work harder because you know you not only represent yourself, your firm and your …

The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans honored Vito Gargano at their general meeting on June 27. Gargano, 95, is the former president of the Italian American Federal Club, an organization comprising hundreds of federal employees of the United States Postal Service. Gargano’s career spans more than 40 years in the USPS. He started as a clerk/level 5 and rose to the highest level in the postal system, level 27, as district director of mail processing for Illinois. Along the way, he served as postmaster for Des Plaines, Illinois, and Racine, Wisconsin, as well as officer-in-charge at the post office …

On skis since she was barely walking, Marta Bassino has hurtled to the top of the sport, notching countless podium visits on the local, regional, national and international levels. After first stepping into skis when she wasn’t even 2 years old, Marta Bassino grew up whizzing down slopes in her native Northern Italy, perfectly at home on the snow. “It was always something very natural,” the 27-year-old says of her sport. “When you start so little, it becomes normal. It feels normal.” Over the years, her talent and hard work catapulted Bassino, a native of Borgo San Dalmazzo in the …

by Rosa Morici Rappa as told to Linda Grisolia An American citizen who died in a Soviet prison camp as a member of the Italian army during World War II, Vincenzo wrote a letter to his family that finally arrived more than 60 years later. My father, Vincenzo Morici, was the youngest of six children. He was born in New York City on March 14, 1918, to Diego and Rosa Lo Baido Morici. His father had emigrated to Chicago from Borgetto, a small town near Palermo, got settled, and then sent for his wife and five children. My father attended …

An award-winning anchor and reporter for WGN-TV, Dina Bair leads a fulfilling triple life as a cancer crusader and mom of four. As a little girl growing up in suburban Philadelphia, Dina Bair liked to pretend to be a journalist and narrate accident scenes for imagined TV cameras while riding in her mother’s car. Her role model was broadcast journalist Diane Sawyer, who inspired her to pursue a journalism degree at Northwestern University and forge an award-winning career at WGN-TV in Chicago. Bair is an anchor for WGN Midday News and the medical reporter for WGN Evening News, as well …