Financial Aid Luncheon
In her remarks, she showed gratitude for the transformative role Prep played in her life during and since her time as a Bullpup. When reflecting on her path, she is repeatedly called to look back at her time at Prep. “What I see when I look back, is not the burden of the challenges of being a student on financial aid, but all of the beautiful moments and the ways I have been shaped by it.”
The annual lunch celebrated 30 Years of the Fair Share tuition program and the lasting impact on each of the more than 4,000 students who have benefited from it since its inception. President Michael Dougherty demonstrated an impact over time that reaches far beyond the economic and academic The social and service impact are in fact immeasurable, he said.
Board member, Jesuit Superior, and alumnus, Fr. Tom Lamanna, S.J. `81 opened the program with a brief history of Catholic, Jesuit education in Spokane. He shared how the shift in faculty from primarily Jesuits to lay persons presented a challenge in providing excellent teachers a just wage. Fair Share was a leap of faith born to fill that need, and enable the continued expansion of the school’s program, and elevate the socio-economic diversity of the school for the benefit of all students.
The Fair Share program provides the essential financial support that helps to ensure the affordability of tuition for every student. Gonzaga Prep is deeply committed to the accessibility of its life-changing educational program. Currently more than 6 out of 10 students receive financial assistance.
It's not too late to support the Fair Share program, your help supports 6 in 10 of Gonzaga Prep students.
She showed a photo of her 3-year-old self smiling on her first day of preschool. “That was about the same time I started telling my mom I wanted to be an astronaut.” The 3-year-old smiling in that picture, she said, is the same as the one smiling in another: one taken when she’d just reached orbit.
In that photo, “for the first time, nothing stood in the way of me and my dream,” she said.
Students who spoke at the luncheon shared their own aspirations and thanked those in attendance for their support of Fair Share.
Khaleia Assih credits her Prep education for her goal of becoming a nurse practitioner, inspired in part by teacher and athletic trainer Chris Hawley.
Tony Rupp reflected on his gratitude for the Prep community for believing in him when enrolling was an opportunity he didn’t think he deserved.
Xzandre Jean-Francois shares how he the culture of service at Prep has nourished his soul through retreats, tutoring, Knights of the Leash, and the Margins program. He is glad for the opportunity to be surrounded by classmates who have the same academic goals and for the community that demands you take an active role in education. He recognized one of his teachers, Mrs. Christopher, for being “the best example of the light that I want to be in the world.”