Bryan is a Virginian native. He was born and raised in Virginia Beach and currently resides in Suffolk. Currently he is working on his undergraduate degree in History, with a minor in Political Science. Using the Giandoni Award, Bryan hopes to complete his path on the teacher program here at ODU where he can educate and train the next generation of historians.

Caroline was raised in Chesapeake, Virginia. She is pursuing her major is History with a concentration in secondary education. After graduating, she plans to teach in a local middle or high school. By teaching, she hopes to serve the community that she was raised in. She believes social studies education is a powerful force in America democracy because it helps foster responsible, civically engaged citizens. For this reason, her studies at Old Dominion focus on American history, political science, and government. She hopes to continue her studies in graduate school to expand her content knowledge and further develop her skills as an educator.

I'm Benjamin Baumann, I am a nontraditional student studying history with a focus in education. I'm originally from South Louisiana and recently left my previous career as a brewer so that I could finish my degree and become a high school social studies teacher. I live in Hampton with my wife Rachel, and our corgi Cheddar. I enjoy travel, cooking, history, and reading.

I used the Giandoni Scholarship to attend a study abroad trip in May 2023 to Poland and France. The trip focused on the Holocaust and took us to Auschwitz/Birkenau and Paris, where I studied the deportation of the Parisian Jews during World War II, the majority of whom were sent to Auschwitz/Birkenau as well as diving deep into the workings of the camp complex. This trip was a life changing event for me. It is one thing to read about the Holocaust, or even visit other concentration camps, such as Dachau, as I had done in the early 2000s. It is quite another to be able to dive deep into the individuals that were sent to the most infamous of them all. The trip allowed me to connect to history in a way that I could not imagine. A way that will enable me to be a better teacher. The firsthand knowledge and experience that gained because of this scholarship will ensure that I will become a better teacher. The knowledge and experience from this trip have helped move the abstract to the concrete in a way that would have not been possible otherwise.

My name is Shaquan Hawkins, and I am from Richmond, VA. I'm currently in my third year of undergrad at Old Dominion University. On campus I am a part of the History Student Advisory Committee and the NAACP Chapter at ODU. With the Giandoni Study Abroad Scholarship, I was able to study abroad in Senegal. On my two-week trip I learned a lot about the Senegalese culture, such as music, dance, food etc. I currently double-major in history and African American studies with a minor in political science. In the future I hope to become a civil rights lawyer or work in an embassy located in any African country.

Qui Tran Castro was born in Rhodes, Greece, but immigrated with his family to the United States in search of better opportunities. Moving to Virginia Beach, Virginia, Qui developed a passion for history through his academic endeavors, initially graduating from Tidewater Community College with an Associate's in Social Science and transferring to Old Dominion University, where he now is working towards his history degree and teaching licensure. Inspired by his own voyage towards the American Dream, Qui plans on graduating from Old Dominion University and begin teaching in schools.