(DePaul University/Josh Woo)
This spring, the Mazza Foundation renewed its commitment to DePaul University by awarding $1.2 million to the university's Mazza Foundation Scholarship Program.
Created during the 2008–09 academic year, the Mazza Foundation Scholarship Program helps students from Big Shoulders Fund Catholic high schools attend DePaul. Inspired by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, a group of business and civic leaders founded the Big Shoulders Fund in 1986 to provide support to Catholic schools in the neediest areas of Chicago.
Recruiting and retaining these students goes to the core of DePaul’s Vincentian mission. Mazza Scholars participate in a cohort program that includes mentoring, academic support, community service and engagement in learning about critical issues that are important to them.
“The Mazza scholarship opened my eyes to the rest of the world," says Argenis Razon, a student who graduated from DePaul in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in finance. "It showed me the importance of giving and helping those in need. Without the help of others, I likely could not have attended DePaul. I am so thankful to the Mazza Foundation for being the bridge to my college education."