The Richard J. Collins Scholarship, a $3,000 award given to a North Allegheny soccer player, was presented to Elliana Vitale, a senior and one of the captains of the high school soccer team.

Vitale, 18, of McCandless received the award May 21 from members of the Collins family, with her family in attendance as well as two former scholarship winners, Julianna Warner and Riley Cerqua, who graduated in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

Jim Luchini, brother-in-law of the scholarship’s namesake, said Vitale fit the bill.

“She was the overwhelming choice,” said Luchini of Franklin Park. “She presently carries a 4.28 GPA, is involved in numerous volunteer work and started three of her four years on the very successful North Allegheny girls soccer team.”

Scholarship winners are based on their grade point average, family and community service commitments, and success on the field and in the classroom. A coach’s recommendation also is to be submitted with an application.

Luchini commented on Vitale’s “terrific personality, desire to succeed and, above all, help others.”

“All past winners seemed to have that in common. We stress this as now they are family with us,” Luchini said.

Vitale will be attending North Carolina State in the fall where she plans to play club soccer while studying biomedical engineering.

The Richard J. Collins Scholarship is in memory of Richard Collins, who passed away five years ago from pancreatic cancer, Luchini said. Collins, a 1983 North Allegheny graduate and Franklin Park resident, graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1987.

He is survived by his wife, Jackie; children, Jake and Shelby; sisters, Jean, Margot, Kathleen, Dawn and Jill; and parents, Dick and Anne. All still live in the North Allegheny School District, Luchini said.

The yearly scholarship of $3,000 is given to a senior North Allegheny boy or girl soccer player who will be attending a college, university or technical school, but not necessarily playing in college, Luchini said.

“Richard J. Collins was passionate about NA soccer as he would watch his son and his North Allegheny nephews, Jamie and Josh Luchini and Matt Mihm, play the game he loved,” Luchini said.

The scholarship has awarded $15,000 since 2021, with a minimum of five additional years pledged, Luchini said. Up to 24 members of the Collins family vote on selecting the applicants.

Vitale has been involved in soccer for most of her life, starting when she was 4, before joining the North Allegheny Soccer Club at 5 and other soccer club teams later. She has been playing for two years with the Northern Steel 06/07 team.

She is a four-year member of the North Allegheny girls soccer team and is a three-year varsity letterman. She commented on the “utmost respect” she has for her teammates.

Vitale also received the 2024 North Allegheny Girls Soccer Team Foundation Award, which recognizes a player’s character on and off the field. Among Vitale’s team achievements is winning the WPIAL championship at Highmark Stadium in 2023.

Vitale is a four-year member and two-year letterman of North Allegheny’s varsity track and field team, among many other activities. She is a four-year North Allegheny scholar athlete recipient.

“Being awarded this scholarship is a meaningful recognition of not only the effort I’ve put into balancing academics and athletics, but also my commitment to my teammates, coaches and my community. It is an honor to carry forward the spirit of someone who exemplified hard work, determination and integrity in everything (Richard Collins) did,” Vitale said.

Vitale earned the Girl Scout Gold Award in 2024. She serves as a lifeguard at the North Park pool and volunteers at Memorial Park Church in McCandless and with Best Buddies through her school.

“The Collins family is an absolute joy, and I am honored to have met them and now to be a small part of their family. Amid their unimaginable grief, the Collins family has chosen to give back by recognizing the accomplishments of a North Allegheny boys or girls soccer player,” she said.

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