Proud to be Italian: UNICO Aces Represents STA at Italian American Heritage Commission

Written by Student Contributor, Isabella DePasquale, Class of 2027

On Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, the New Jersey Italian American Heritage Commission held its annual Congress at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. The Congress brings participants together to exchange and learn ideas about Italian heritage, language and culture. The STA UNICO Aces chapter was invited to represent the school at the Congress this year and was the only high school in attendance. The UNICO Aces Club board members, including President Sarah Moscaritolo, Public Relations Chair Ava Viola, Secretary Isabella DePasquale, and club moderator Mrs. Milena Marucci, were all in attendance.

This year's Congress was titled Honoring Italian Contribution and Preserving Italian Culture, which focused on how to expand the Italian language program in schools while also highlighting the positive contributions that Italians and Italian Americans have made throughout history.

While at the Congress, STA students interacted with many Italian professors, teachers and NJIAHC members. The students also met with VIPs like UNICO Past National Presidents Anthony Bengivenga and Ralph Contini. “Providing an opportunity for the St. Thomas Aquinas students further emphasizes the Commission's goals,” said Vincent Maione, NJIAHC chair. “They are a great representation of the Italian studies program in New Jersey. We look forward to a long cooperative engagement with St. Thomas Aquinas High School.”

The event had numerous speakers, including filmmakers Marylou and Jerome Bongiorno, who spoke about their film series American Women Saints, which features Mother Cabrini. Mother Cabrini is the first American saint. There were several other speakers who continued to explore the theme of the day, as well as projects on how to further develop Italian culture and heritage in schools. Along with these talks, a cultural performance involving opera singers took place to showcase the beauty of Italian culture and language.

Mrs. Marucci, excited about the future, shared, “Both the students and I were very impressed with the program, and we took a lot of ideas and insights back to STA. We were pleasantly surprised by the attention the school received from representatives across the state for our program and UNICO Aces Club.”