Valentina Margiottiello ’17 Recipient of the Santa and Vincenzo Corpora Scholarship Valentina Margiottiello ’17 loves kids. “I’ve always wanted to go to college and become a teacher,” says the first-generation college student, and she’s determined to achieve her goal despite the financial hardship. “My father has a successful business, but we’ve had a couple of rough years,” she says, so she’s taken out student loans, and she works two jobs—one at the bookstore and the other in the mailroom. The smiling and energetic Margiottiello carries the load well. Still, it was a blessing when she was awarded the Santa and Vincenzo Corpora Scholarship her sophomore year. The easing of financial burden allowed Margiottiello to get more involved in activities that enrich and enhance her Moravian College experience. She is captain of the soccer team, copresident of the education honor society (KDP), and a member of Alpha Sigma Tau, and she appreciates all of it. “I love Moravian,” she says. “The education program is amazing, and so are the teachers.” Margiottiello will earn her certification in early childhood education in the spring, and then plans to pursue a master’s degree in special education, a specialty she discovered she enjoyed while doing fieldwork with special-needs kids. The scholarship has provided practical support but also something far less tangible and perhaps far more meaningful. “I am grateful for the scholarship,” says Margiottiello, “but I am also honored because I was chosen to receive it, and that means people believe in me.” Yes, Valentina Margiottiello, we believe in you.
Fall 2016 Moravian College Magazine 19