The Leonidas Foundation & Mount Saint Dominic Academy Celebrate Pinning of Inaugural L.E.O. Program Cohort

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ~ Friday, November 22, 2019
Contact: Matthew Perricone, President ~ 973-615-3501 ~ leonidasfoundation@gmail.com

Caldwell, NJ ~ The Leonidas Foundation & Mount Saint Dominic Academy were proud to welcome the first cohort of school’s The L.E.O. Program at its annual Pinning Ceremony on Wednesday evening in Savio Hall at the school’s Ramsey New Jersey campus.

Seventeen junior students were ceremoniously pinned in anticipation of the January 2020 commencement of their L.E.O. Program course. In the presence of current and graduated L.E.O. Program students, family, friends, Leonidas Foundation representatives, and members of the Mount Saint Dominic religious and lay communities, the students heard empowering statements of best wishes from Leonidas Foundation representatives, their peers, and school administration. 

Following a welcome blessing by Sr. Frances Sullivan, Head of Mount Saint Dominic, students were greeted by Kristen Zosche, Director of Curriculum & Instruction. Leonidas Foundation Trustee Teddy Vagias, whose late son is the program’s namesake, offered a powered call to action expressing the Foundation and the school's commitment to investing in the students with the expectation that the students will commit to the coursework and interactive learning experiences. Leonidas Foundation Vice President Alex Cucciniello spoke to the attendees about the Foundation’s efforts in conjunction with Mount Saint Dominic to formulate and develop the L.E.O. Program.

The inductees were addressed by Mount Saint Dominic alumnus Jessica Iacullo, CEO & Founder of Hungry Grl Big City LLC. Since graduating from The Mount and Pitt, Jessica has developed a well-known Instagram profile with a connected blog, Facebook, and Twitter discussing food, recipes, and food trends from all over the world. The Instagram page has over 32,000 followers and counting. Combined across channels, the following and reach exceeds 35,000 partnering with brands and companies such as Cosmopolitan, Business Insider, Heinz, Boars Head, Forbes, New York Jets, Citi Bank, and US Open, among others.

One of the highlights of the evening came when L.E.O. Program student Katerina Holevas, Leo’s cousin, spoke to those gathered about the opportunity being presented to the 17 Mount Saint Dominic students. She conveyed the significance of the opportunity that L.E.O. offers the students involved and highlighted the Program’s main focuses: leadership, entrepreneurship, and opportunity.

The new L.E.O. students were then pinned by Sr. Fran, Foundation Vice President Alex Cucciniello, Dr. Muoio, and Teddy Vagias.  Dr. Marissa Muoio concluded the evening’s festivities with words of encouragement to the new L.E.O. Program students and their families.

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