Diocese of Camden officials recently joined those from Rowan College of South Jersey, the Gaetano Foundation, the Rowan College Foundation and others for a ceremonial signing that will benefit South Jersey’s Catholic high school students.
Each of the partners was represented at the podium during the event: Dr. Bill Watson, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Camden; Dr. Frederick Keating, president of Rowan College of South Jersey; Frank Messina of the Gaetano Foundation; Christine Messina of the South Jersey Scholarship Fund, and Mike Girone, chairman of the Rowan College Foundation.
“We are here to recognize a collaboration offering two unique opportunities to students,” Dr. Keating said. “One opportunity is providing access to college classes to parochial school students while still attending high school, and that’s [supported by] the South Jersey Scholarship Fund. The second opportunity is the Gaetano Foundation providing parochial high school graduates scholarships to attend RCSJ. Education is the great equalizer. We owe it to our children and our grandchildren to give them an affordable and accessible pathway to college.”
The event marked an expansion of the Start Smart Scholarship, initiated in 2012, and a partnership that includes the High School Option Program and Gaetano Start Smart Scholarship.
The High School Option Program provides Diocese of Camden high school students the opportunity to receive Rowan College of South Jersey courses at a discounted tuition while still in high school. The South Jersey Scholarship Fund will provide scholarships for high school tuition for select students who pursue the High School Option Program as a way to help parents offset the costs of the college credits. The completed courses can then be applied to an associate degree at Rowan College of South Jersey or transferred to one of the many colleges or universities – including Catholic institutions – that have partnered with RCSJ to accept transfer credits.
“What this collaboration does is help students and their parents leverage the investment they make in Catholic education for even more opportunities, especially at the college level,” Dr. Watson said.
Christine Messina, a member of the South Jersey Scholarship Fund board of trustees, praised Dr. Keating on his willingness to include Catholic schools in this program. “It was such an innovative move by Dr. Keating to have a public institution reach out to the Catholic schools and ask, ‘How can we help more people together?’”
The event also marked the establishment of the Gaetano Start Smart Scholarship, in conjunction with the Rowan College Foundation and Gaetano Foundation. The scholarship will provide qualified graduates from Catholic high schools in the Diocese of Camden the opportunity to receive $1,000 toward higher education at RCSJ.
Dr. Watson noted that both the scholarship and High School Option Program will help Catholic school families make “college so much more affordable.”
The event culminated with a speech by Isabella Teti, a senior at Gloucester Catholic High School, Gloucester City, who is currently enrolled in the High School Option Program. “I said to my parents, ‘This probably sounds crazy, but I want to earn my associate degree in criminal justice before I graduate high school.’ My parents supported me, and the opportunities didn’t stop there.”
Teti, who is also a two-sport athlete at Gloucester Catholic, shared with the attendees that she was invited to join RCSJ’s National Society of Leadership and Success and Phi Theta Kappa while enrolled in the program.
Teti concluded her speech by saying, “I stand here today as a future graduate of RCSJ this upcoming May, but most importantly, I stand here as a Catholic high school student who was given an opportunity and has proven that age has no barrier to achieving greatness.”
For more information on RCSJ’s HSOP program, visit RCSJ.edu/HSOP. For information on Rowan College Foundation scholarship opportunities, visit RCSJ.edu/Scholarships.
Michael Bress is communications and marketing manager for the Diocese of Camden’s Office of Catholic Education.
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