Dante Club earns National Grant
Saint Mary's Dante Club selected by National Italian American Foundation for the Campus Program partnership.
The Dante Club is making waves on the national stage. Founded in 1935, the Dante Club is one of the oldest organizations on Saint Mary's Campus, with a goal of celebrating Italian language and culture. The Club has recently joined the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) on Campus Program, a partnership between the NIAF and colleges across the United States. Through this program, the Dante Club is eligible for $1,500 in funding to support events that celebrate the contributions of Italian culture in America. As one of only twenty collegiate Italian clubs selected to receive this funding, the honor reflects just how far the Club has come.
Julia Streisfeld Kennedy, NIAF's Director of Scholarships, Grants, and Youth Engagement, captures the spirit of the program well: the initiative empowers young leaders to champion Italian culture beyond the classroom and inspires them to carry that passion into their lives after college.
The grant has already been put to meaningful use. Most recently, the Dante Club used NIAF funding to participate in the International Film Festival, where they screened the acclaimed Italian film C'è ancora domani (There Is Still Tomorrow, 2023) — bringing an important and celebrated piece of contemporary Italian cinema to the Saint Mary's community.
At its core, the Dante Club is driven by a group of dedicated Italian American students, including Madonna Strazzeri '27 and Mia Franceschi '27. But the Club is more than the sum of its members, it represents what it means to be Italian American, particularly meaningful given how deeply Italian American heritage is woven into the surrounding community. For a culture that has long been underrepresented, the Dante Club offers a new generation of Italian Americans a space to share and celebrate who they are, both with each other and with their broader campus community.
The Club holds monthly events throughout the year, building toward its signature celebration: the Italian Cars and Culture Show. After a pandemic-era hiatus, the event made a triumphant return to Saint Mary's campus in 2025, drawing 45 cars and over a hundred and fifty guests. The Dante Club hopes to make it an annual tradition.
Guiding it all is Professor of Italian Maria Grazia De Angelis, who has served as the Club's faculty advisor since 2000. Over the years, she has watched countless students grow into confident leaders, and this current group is no exception, having taken on the ambitious task of organizing the Cars and Culture event from the ground up.