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- William Paterson University
Scholarships:
Uniting Past, Present, and Future
with a Belief in
The Power of Education
By Barbara E. Martin
 Three Machuga Foundation scholarship recipients
(from left): Raven Suber, Darren Smith, and Kenya Young |
- Previous, Next
- What drives a donor to establish a scholarship? Where does the motivation come from to reach out a hand to a young student in need? How does the gift of a scholarship affect the life of the recipient? Scholarships, which have the power to change lives, are established for many reasons and come from various sources. Yet, the givers and receivers are unanimously allied in purpose - to enhance student success.
Over the past two years,
the William Paterson University Foundation has worked with many
donors to create a true diversity of scholarship opportunities
within the context of the Foundation's Campaign for Scholarship
and Endowment. More than two dozen scholarships were created
for disadvantaged, high-achieving, first-generation, transfer,
nursing, and honors students, to name a few.
Alum's Father Proved Inspirational
"My Dad had a dream for me," recalls William Pesce, president and chief executive officer of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., one of the world's foremost publishers of print and electronic products. "He wanted me to represent the family as the first person to graduate from college." In a moment of intense satisfaction, Aniello J. Pesce's dream came true in the late spring of 1973, as his son received a bachelor's degree in business administration from William Paterson.
Aniello Pesce was a plumber with a third-grade education, but "he was a very wise person who was an advocate of education," remembers his son. His parents were immigrants from Italy who were used to hard physical labor. But Aniello Pesce wanted more for his children. "He believed that education could lead to a better life for the next generation, for themselves and their families," Will Pesce recalls. Despite his humble circumstances, Aniello Pesce, described by his son as "the inspirational leader of his family," encouraged his children to study. "Once, when Dad gave me a fountain pen, he would sit at night and watch me use it as I sat studying and writing. Maybe he didn't understand the full power of education, but he did believe that it could be used to build a better life," says Pesce, who believes his father's support and influence are responsible for his success today.
That success enabled Pesce and his wife Henrietta, Class of '72, to institute a scholarship at William Paterson. Last year, they established the Aniello J. Pesce Scholarship to honor Will's father. The parameters of the scholarship reflect his roots. The recipient must be a first-generation college student who has worked hard for an education and achieved a certain grade point average in the study of business.
Where to find such a student? Enter Jaime Mazza, a sophomore business administration major from Bridgeton, New Jersey, and the first Mazza to go to college. Her father works for Atlantic Electric and her mother is now self-employed after years of working for her own father's business, Cumberland Engraving. "I never had a doubt that I would go to college," Mazza says. Her older brother, Kris, followed her lead and now attends Cumberland County Community College, with the hope of someday being a state trooper. Mazza's dream is to own her own business - a surf shop in Costa Rica. Before that, however, she will spend this fall studying at the University of San Jose in Costa Rica and after graduation plans to join the Peace Corps for two years. "I'm really into the environment," she says, "and learning about another culture is fascinating." In addition to the $5,000-a-year Pesce Scholarship, she also won a $1,000 Academic Excellence Scholarship from the University.
She is happy to receive the scholarship. "With my brother now going to college, it meant that my parents didn't have to pay for me," she remarks. Mazza, who lives on campus, works 13 hours a week in the Admissions Office as a phone coordinator while taking a full course load. She is treasurer of the Student Alumni Council and plans to join the Outdoors Club and the Debate Society. Before she leaves for Central America, she will spend the summer working in a surf shop in Ocean City, New Jersey.
A hard-working student, Mazza, who never met Aniello Pesce, is keeping the spirit of his dream alive - success through education - through the efforts of his son Will.
Ties That Bind-A Campus Connection
It was his desire to give something back to an institution where he had a "rewarding experience both as a student and as an alumnus" that led Vincent J. Mazzola '73 to establish The Mazzola Family Scholarship this year.
Now the vice president and chief operating officer for Service Provider Networks at Lucent Technologies, Japan Ltd., and a member of the William Paterson University Board of Trustees, he resides in Tokyo with his wife, Mary Ann, and daughters Emily, 6, and Katherine, 4.
It was the ideal of family that brought him here and that keeps his connection to the University. The son of a milkman, he was the among the first in his generation to attend college, encouraged by his family, who, he says, "understood the value of an education."
That belief in the power of education is a motivating factor in his involvement with the University. "William Paterson University is an institution that still serves the first generation of college students," Mazzola relates. "It's important to help them and other individuals who are new to our country to start the American dream."
The scholarship he established in his family's name (a cousin and brother-in-law are also alumni) "allows students who may not have the chance to attend college to experience this great institution." More importantly, he and his wife "want to convey to our children the value of contributing" to society. "I hope they will continue this connection to the University."
Mazzola, who began his studies in 1969, worked his way through what was then Paterson State College on the G.I. Bill after a stint in the service and a tour of duty in Vietnam. "I had just returned from Asia, and this community made me feel comfortable," he says. He remembers his interactions with many faculty, administrators, and staff as "so positive; their support made the experience quite rewarding."
That community spirit is the wellspring of his commitment to the University. "This scholarship is not a one-time donation," he remarks. "I have pledged $50,000 to endow the scholarship. I hope this will be a vehicle for my family to continue to contribute to the University and my children to contribute beyond that."
A scholarship recipient will be selected for the fall 2000 semester, and Mazzola is looking forward to meeting that person. "I would like to mentor a student whose career path is consistent with the one I've chosen," he says.
Million Dollar Donation Includes Scholarship Funds
A $1 million donation, the single largest donation ever received by William Paterson University, by the John Victor Machuga Foundation last year includes $700,000 in scholarship money, half of which is endowed.
The Machuga Foundation has already supported several University students, but the new gift serves to expand the number of students who can be helped.
Photo:
Unveiling
the newly renamed John Victor Machuga Student Center are (from
left) Machuga Foundation Trustees
Bruce Waldman, Albert Dahab, Joseph Makoujy, and John Tarrant,
with President Arnold Speert (center)
Bruce Waldman, executive director of the Machuga Foundation and a childhood friend of John Victor Machuga, is one of five members of the Machuga Foundation. "I knew him since we were five years old," he recalls. "In his will he asked me and four friends to set up a foundation in his name. Because he was interested in helping to educate students, among other things, we picked education as one area to support."
Machuga, the son of Hungarian immigrants, grew up poor in Paterson during the Depression. He amassed his fortune through shrewd investments in the stock market, and was "very giving of his time, advice, and labor," Waldman recalls. A lifelong bachelor, Machuga left most of his fortune to support the foundation.
Although new scholarship recipients have not yet been selected, the Machuga Foundation has supported four students from Rosa Parks High School in Paterson with full scholarships.
For those students, the scholarships have brought a vote of confidence to their lives. Kenya Young, now a junior, says the scholarship enabled her to fulfill a dream - to further her education. "I never thought I had what it took to go to college," she recalls. "I was so happy that someone believed in me enough to support my education." A sociology major with a concentration in criminal justice, she plans to join the FBI after finishing at William Paterson.
Raven Suber, a sophomore
considering majors in nursing or education, tells a similar story.
"I always wanted to go to college, but it was almost not
a possibility for me," she says. "The scholarship has
meant a great deal to me. It gives me the inspiration to keep
going and lets me concentrate on keeping up my grades."
Professor Emerita Continues to Assist Students
Retiring from teaching after 35 years didn't stop Sally Hand's desire to help students. An English professor at William Paterson University before her retirement in 1999, she taught "bottom-line remedial students" brought to the campus under special programs.
Vowing to "help these students when I retired," she has done just that, by establishing a $25,000 endowed scholarship, The Audrey Jones-Pelham and Albert Edward Pelham Scholarship for inner-city African-American students. Hand named the scholarship in honor of Audrey Pelham, a longtime coworker and friend. Pelham, a University employee for 32 years, who now works in the Office of Institutional Advancement, first met Hand in 1967 when she came to campus as the English Department secretary. When it came time to name the gift, Hand remembered that Pelham and her husband, Al, who are involved in numerous community projects, run a six-week summer program for students 13 to 18 years old in Montclair called Project Oasis, under the auspices of the Montclair Neighborhood Development Corporation.
With the scholarship she hopes to "give a person a fresh start and a chance at a good middle-class life," Hand states. "I'm complementing what Al and Audrey are doing in the community and support that good work."
Hand, who grew up on a farm in Georgia, was raised in a family that believed in education. Furthermore, "My father believed in education for women, an uncommon belief in those days," she remembers. "Education enables you to be a wise person, and gives you the opportunity to think of ideas from a universal perspective. I want young people to participate in everything they can to broaden their self-confidence. Students who have self-confidence don't fall through the cracks."
A recipient of the Pelham Scholarship will be selected for the fall 2000 semester. W
To find out more about the William Paterson University Foundation Scholarships please call the Office of Institutional Advancement at 973.720.2615.
WP
