For the students, it was a chance to express gratitude toward the people who helped make their education a reality. Thanks in part to their generosity, Faith & Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid is less than $10 million away from reaching its $175 million goal. And for the donors, the evening offered an opportunity to hear from the students whose lives were changed by their gifts.   

“It is through your giving that a difference is made in the lives of our scholars,” John R. Costantino, GABELLI ’67, LAW ’70, said to the donors in the University Club’s Main Dining Room. Then he and his wife thanked the younger guests—the students who had become more than just “scholarship recipients.”

“We have been to [their]  graduations, weddings, christenings, and had the good fortune to watch our scholars grow, mature, and succeed,” said Barbara Costantino. “In many ways, this is an extension of our family.”

A Dream Made Reality

This year’s student speaker was Elena Comas Wood, FCRH ’21, the recipient of the Jane M. Flaherty Scholarship. Today, Wood is a political science major and Arabic minor from San Antonio, Texas, who plans to pursue a career in public policy. But when she was a child, she had a different idea.

“I first declared my intention to be president at only 5 years old,” Wood said, to laughter from the audience. “This dream—the dream to be a catalyst for meaningful change—was born in my pre-K classroom where, between lessons on the alphabet and finger painting, my very first teacher taught us about India’s independence movement, the civil rights movement, and environmental activism.”

As she grew, so did her passion for public service. In high school, she served as under-secretary-general of external affairs at one of the largest student-led Model United Nations conferences in the country. Today, as a second-generation Mexican American, she mentors Latina middle school students through Fordham’s Club Amigas/Mentoring Latinas program. And last summer, as a policy intern for Texas State Representative Diego Bernal, she watched two of her policy memorandums become house bills to help homeless and hearing-impaired students.

“Representative Bernal frequently joked that they only brought me onto the team because he always wanted to go to Fordham,” Wood said. “But in all seriousness, it was Fordham’s widely recognized reputation for social interest, along with its network of professors, administrators, and alumni, that made each of those opportunities possible.”

There was one more “instrumental” factor: the Jane M. Flaherty Scholarship.

“Earlier this year, my parents and I had a frank discussion about whether or not I would be able to finish my undergraduate degree at Fordham,” Wood said. “I am quite literally in front of you today, a Fordham student, thanks to the Flaherty Scholarship. It is because of you that I do not have to choose between affordability and my dreams.”

The Woman Behind the Scholarship

Jane M. Flaherty, who passed away last February at age 71, never attended Fordham. But she had great love for the University.

“She spent a lot of time here with me while we were dating, before we got married,” said her husband James P. (Jim) Flaherty, FCRH ’69, a Fordham trustee. “We got engaged the night of our senior prom.”

Jane Flaherty was a native New Yorker who was devoted to her husband, children, and 10 grandchildren. She was proud of her Catholic education, and the education her husband received at Fordham. There were two University events she really loved, said her husband: the annual Festival of Lessons and Carols at the University Church and this scholarship reception.

“They would give her a table, but they’d have 10 people around it, and she’d be surrounded. And I would just leave, ’cause I wasn’t serving any purpose,” Jim said, smiling as he recalled the memory.

For Jane, it was always a delight to speak with her scholars face-to-face at the annual reception.

“When I meet my students, I’m filled with joy,” Jane Flaherty said at the 2016 event. “It’s like I’m meeting my children.”

Finding Fellowship in STEM and Life

Mary Jane F. McCartney, TMC ’69, has met many student scholars. But Sophie Cote was the first one who Googled her before they met in person.

“I discovered that at Con Ed, she was the first female in like four different high-level positions, and I just think that’s the coolest thing ever,” gushed Cote, a first-year math and economics student at Fordham College at Rose Hill interested in the technology and energy sectors. “And this is really similar to what I want to do with my career.”

Cote isn’t a recipient of any of McCartney’s scholarships. She is a Cunniffe Presidential Scholar who was impressed by McCartney’s resume and met her at the reception.

McCartney also spoke with one of her scholarship recipients, Rodolfo Keesey, FCRH ’20, an integrative neuroscience student whose research includes gene expression and 3D printed prosthetic hands. A few weeks ago, McCartney and Keesey first met at the Rose Hill undergraduate research symposium. Recently, she helped him secure an undergraduate research grant for this summer, he said.

“We’re all STEM people,” Keesey said, turning toward Cote and McCartney. “It’s great!”

A few paces away, Bob and Sue Stone, PAR ’15, were engrossed in conversation with the recipient of their scholarship, Robert Magrino—a Gabelli School of Business junior studying business administration.

“We come to this event every year. Rather than writing a check, which is easy to do in terms of time, coming here is a chance to find out where the money is going and if it’s helping,” Bob Stone said. “And clearly, it is.”

“The way they were talking to me, they made it seem like I could go to J.P. Morgan or Morgan Stanley,” Magrino said in a private conversation. “Hopefully, that will come true.”

A Toast to Fordham

As the evening drew to a close, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, lifted his glass and announced a three-part toast.

“I propose a toast first to the students, whose hopes give us great joy, who point us to the future and make us smile and make us young again,” he said. “To the young saints.”

“Hear, hear,” the audience answered.

Father McShane dedicated his second toast to the “mature saints” who make it possible for the young saints to shine. His final toast, however, was for the 178-year-old institution that had brought them all together.

“That place where talent is tested, character is nurtured, and hope is born in every generation,” Father McShane said, raising his glass to the sculpted ceiling. “To Fordham.”

“To Fordham,” they echoed.  

For Ian Cairns, a recipient of the Albert and Barbara Costello Scholarship, the April 23 event, which was held at the University Club in Manhattan, gave him a chance to thank the Costello family for their generosity.  Because of the scholarship, he was able to study finance at the Gabelli School of Business with “a peace of mind,” he said.

“A lot of my friends back home weren’t able to go away to college or they would have to come home during the week to work and help their families with rent and other things,” said Cairns, a first-generation college student. “This scholarship has allowed me to learn as much as I can, join a lot of clubs, and meet a lot of people.”

Cairns—who got to meet Barbara A. Costello at the reception—was one of more than 300 guests who attended. Several other scholarship recipients were able to meet and connect with the donors who have helped to fund their education.

Costello, who established the Costello Scholarship with her late husband, Albert Costello, FCRH ’57, said being able to alleviate the burdens of promising Fordham students like Cairns is helping to keep her husband’s legacy alive.

“When I see these kids, I see the dreams of my husband,” she said.

‘Patrons and Saints’

In his address to the donors and students, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, called the donors “generous souls” who are contributing to success of talented students with limited financial resources. Benefactors have created more than 130 new scholarships for students as part of Faith & Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid. The fundraising campaign has raised more than $130 million toward the University’s $175 million goal.

“Words could never tell you how deeply grateful I am for the fact that you make Fordham new every day,” he said.

“You make Fordham new because you are the patrons and saints for the young men and women in this room.”

Henry Miller, FCRH ’68, benefactor of the Henry S. Miller Endowed Fellowship for International Education and University trustee, spoke on behalf of the donors. In his speech, he discussed some of his own hardships as a college student and shared how getting the opportunity to study in France transformed his life. By funding the fellowship, he is able to provide promising Fordham students with similar study-abroad experiences in countries like Spain, Jordan, and African nations, he said.

“I share a history common to many of you here,” he told the students. “My parents were workers of modest means. They didn’t attend college. They couldn’t help direct my choice or even list my options.”

Arielle Murray, a first-generation college student and this year’s student speaker, shared how receiving the E. Gerald Corrigan Endowed Scholarship helped her to focus on her coursework and extracurricular activities.

“On top of majoring in music, and minoring in both Spanish and theology, I was also involved in the yoga and mindfulness club, Global Outreach Ecuador, and the Granada study abroad program,” the senior at Fordham College at Lincoln Center said. “Each would have their own hand in shaping who I would become.”

Murray said her family moved from Trinidad and Tobago to the U.S. in 1990 in pursuit of a better life. She shared that her older brother was supposed to be the first to attend college, but had the opportunity taken away from him when regulations tightened after 9/11.

“It was heartbreaking,” she said. “Instead of pursuing higher education as he wanted to, my brother had to immediately enter the workforce, which made me the first in our family to attend college. Understanding the extent of my family’s hardships piqued my awareness that the opportunity to pursue higher education was a great privilege.”

As Murray gave her speech, her parents Curtis and Nancy Murray looked on with pride.

“She has always been a meticulous student who was very serious about her work,” said Curtis Murray. “Sometimes, I would come home at night and find her studying even at 2 a.m.”

Murray’s story resonated with last year’s student speaker Caroline Koenig, a Gabelli School senior and recipient of the Peter and Carol Howe Endowed Scholarship.

“Coming from my background, no one has ever been to college, so saving for college when I was growing up was not a part of the financial planning in my family,” said the Fairfield, Connecticut native, who explained that she had to take on different jobs to help cover the cost of her tuition.

“Once I got a scholarship, I was able to become an advising assistant for freshmen, volunteer at Murray-Weigel Hall, and join an accounting society [called Beta Alpha Psi],” she said.

Personal Connections

Paul A. Soden, Esq., FCRH ’65, LAW ’68, and his wife Irene Soden, who established the Irene and Paul Soden Endowed Scholarship, said the annual event has allowed them to build personal connections with the scholarship recipients.

“I liked the fact that my donors are people that I could meet,” said Soden Scholar Lauren Scully, a student at Fordham Law.

“It’s kind of a celebration of a long, hard adventure on everyone’s part—the donors, who for all these years, managed to accumulate enough money to be able to be generous, and the recipients who worked so hard to get the scholarships,” added Paul Soden.

Hearing about the personal challenges and strides of the students whom their scholarships support has inspired many donors to not only share their own stories, but also offer advice to their recipients. James P. Melican Jr., Esq., FCRH ’62, who has helped to support several Fordham Fund Scholars, said that these conversations are one of the most important parts of the evening.

“I sat with a couple of young people and I told them, ‘There is really nothing that you should not be willing to attempt,’” he said. He was pleased to see how the students have succeeded in their studies.

“People from so many other places in the world have the opportunity to come to Fordham and get the same kind of foundation that we got. I couldn’t be happier.”

Some 300 guests attended the annual event, which offers a chance for students to meet those who helped support their college education. The event also celebrated Faith & Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid, a financial aid fundraising campaign which was announced in March, and which has raised more than $100 million toward its $175 million goal.

The students talked about the moment they heard they’d received their scholarships, which was also, for many of them, the moment when they knew they could attend Fordham.

“It was literally the final couple of thousand dollars that would be the make-or-break thing, so when I opened the envelope, I said, ‘Yes! Thank God!’ Because Fordham was my first choice,” said Sereen Kurzum, a Fordham College at Rose Hill freshman and recipient of the Dolf Leitner and Mildred Schalk Leitner Endowed Scholarship.

“It was such a sense of joy and relief, a moment when I knew my hard work had paid off,” said Janae Rene, a Gabelli School of Business senior and recipient of the Richard J. Fay Memorial Endowed Scholarship.

South Bronx native Ariel Corozo-Morales, a Rose Hill sophomore and recipient of the Albert and Jean Salvatico Endowed Scholarship, said that he grew up knowing about Fordham and it was his top choice, but “the biggest obstacle was affording it.” He and his mother were “relieved and excited” when he got his scholarship.

He said that many of his friends attending Fordham also got scholarships, which he said helps foster diversity on campus.

Addressing the gathering, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, said that Fordham was founded by Archbishop John Hughes to “pass on the faith and break the cycle of poverty” in the Irish immigrant community. He said that no matter which wave of immigrants that alumni and students were part of—whether from early waves of Irish or Italians or from recent waves of Eastern Europeans and Africans—Fordham has “always been a school that has a soft spot in its heart for immigrants.”

Student speaker Caroline Koenig, a Gabelli School junior, received the Peter and Carol Howe Endowed Scholarship. Koenig said her family sold their home and left their bakery in France, so that she could have better opportunities in the United States. The family opened a new bakery in Fairfield, Connecticut.

She said she began her college in arts and sciences, but her mother told her, “T’as le commerce dans le sang,” “You have business in your blood.” She said when she decided to come to the Gabelli School, she began to look for ways to save money, such as living off campus or even commuting from Fairfield. Her scholarship has allowed her to fully immerse herself in campus life and to participate in all the activities and networking opportunities offered by the school.

“I am forever grateful to everyone in this room who helps us realize our own American dreams,” she said.

Some alumni donors made a strong distinction between the new campaign, Faith & Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid, and monies raised for brick-and-mortar projects.

“In bricks and mortar you’re trying to make sure the facilities that the University provides for the students are the best that they can be,” said John Costantino, GABELLI ’67, LAW ’70. “But that’s different from financial aid, because in financial aid there’s a face behind it. And there’s a tremendous amount of charm to giving when you can actually see that you’ve helped somebody.”

While supporting buildings is important, said William Toppeta, FCRH ’70, he sees himself as supporting on the “people end.”

“We believe in the future and the future is shaped by the students who are able to come,” he said. “And we want to make sure they have the ability to come.”

Darlene Luccio Jordan, FCRH ’89, a Fordham trustee, campaign co-chair, and a benefactor of the Darlene Luccio Jordan, Esq., and Gerald R. Jordan Jr. Endowed Scholarship, drove home the critical importance of supporting students.

“All schools need buildings that contain classrooms and labs; fields, pools, gyms for the sports teams; and libraries to house books and research materials,” said Jordan. “But without the students, none of those things matter … The value is in the students who will use all the resources that Fordham has to offer, and leave their mark not only on Fordham but on the world.”

“When I meet my students I’m filled with joy,” said donor Jane M. Flaherty, PAR ’00, ’02. “It’s like I’m meeting my children.”

Flaherty was one of dozens of donors who met their scholarship students at a gala reception held at the University Club in Manhattan. She and her husband, James Flaherty, FCRH ’69, created a scholarship in her name, which is benefitting seven graduating seniors and one junior.

James Flaherty said that like many of the student recipients, he also received a scholarship that affected his life “in profound ways.” He spoke of family and friends from his neighborhood in Brooklyn who went on to solid careers as policemen and firemen. But he said his Fordham education helped him take a different path than most of his contemporaries. It helped foster a successful business career that later allowed him to travel the world and give back to his alma mater.

“They’re great kids and they deserve the same chance,” he said.

In the club’s soaring reception hall, Joseph O’Brien, FCRH ’16, one recipient of the Flahertys’ generosity, described a comfortable upbringing painfully disrupted by the sudden death of his father in 2013. A once certain college education seemed to slip from his grasp—until the Flaherty scholarship.

“I am eternally grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Flaherty,” he said. “I don’t see them as just my benefactors. To me they’re special partners in my journey.”

O’Brien was followed at the podium by Susan Conley Salice, FCRH ’82, who started a scholarship fund with her husband, Thomas Salice, GABELLI ’82, to pay it forward. Salice said that she and her husband were struggling first-generation college graduates.

“We were both from working-class families where college was truly out of reach for us,” she said.

She said that while both of them learned of the importance of hard work, responsibility, and compassion from their families, they did not necessarily learn from them how to get ahead in life.

“We knew that the only way to make a better lives for ourselves was to go off to college,” she said. “We also knew, quite frankly, that in order to go to college we were going to have to get money. We are so grateful that Fordham stepped up—in both our situations.”

Joseph M. McShane, SJ, president of Fordham, called the crowd of donors and recipients “theologians” in that they were practitioners of three theological virtues: faith, hope, and love.

“Our donors are grounded in love, they’re moved to believe in those who come after them, and they take joy in making hope possible,” said Father McShane. “When I’m talking about love here, it’s not an abstract noun. It is an active verb.”

Mary Jane F. McCartney, TMC ’69, PAR ’07, formed a scholarship with her husband, George F. McCartney, Esq., FCRH ’68, LAW ’74, PAR ’07. She concurred with Father McShane on the subject of hope, and elaborated on her own.

“I hope that I’m one of many people,” she said. “If a lot of people give, we can send students with values and skills out into the world.”