New Scholarships Honor Legacy and Service

Since its founding in 1870, the mission of St. John’s University has been to provide a quality Catholic college education to deserving students, many of whom are in need. In 2017 alone, over $81 million in grants and scholarships was awarded to the University’s incoming first-year class.

In advance of the Fall 2018 semester, St. John’s has introduced new scholarships designed to honor those men and women who serve our country in uniform and those families whose lives are woven into the tapestry of the University.

The St. John’s Service Scholarship Award is open to the sons and daughters of military members, police officers, and firefighters, nationwide. The new “Service Scholarships” are available to the children of active service officers, retirees, and those who died in the line of duty. Eligible students will receive $2,000 per year for up to four years of continuous, full-time undergraduate enrollment at St. John’s. Based on current enrollment, projections indicate that approximately 10 percent of the incoming first-year class will be eligible for the new Service Scholarships.

“These new scholarships are in keeping with our nearly 150-year history of service to others,” said Vice Provost and Chief Enrollment Officer Jorge Rodriguez. “Given what these outstanding men and women have done for our country, the University finds it fitting to give back to some of our bravest citizens by helping to educate their sons and daughters in the greatest city in the world.”

Not only has the enduring mission of the University been reflected in giving back to those in uniform, but St. John’s has also funded a scholarship for young women, thanks to the generosity of the Roche family.

Alumna Patricia Kelly Roche and her husband, John, found a unique way to fund a scholarship for female students studying within St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the academic college from which Mrs. Roche graduated. The couple auctioned more than 100 highly regarded European and American works of art from the Patricia and John Roche Collection to fund the Patricia Kelly Roche Scholarship at St. John’s University. The paintings, prints, and watercolors were auctioned at Freeman’s in Philadelphia, PA, in September. The scholarship endowment is now at nearly $500,000 and growing.

Mrs. Roche was herself the beneficiary of a scholarship to St. John’s, awarded by the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn. She was the first in her family to attend college, an opportunity that would not have been possible without the financial assistance her scholarship provided. Female students, who are similarly in need of financial aid, are eligible for this new scholarship in Mrs. Roche’s name.

Helping members of the St. John’s alumni community of more than 180,000 continue the enduring tradition of the University is at the heart of the new Legacy Scholarship. First-time students entering St. John’s in the Fall of 2018 will automatically be considered for the Legacy Scholarship when they indicate on their admission application that their grandparents, parents, or siblings received a degree from St. John’s University; $2,000 per year will be awarded for up to four years of continuous, full-time undergraduate enrollment at St. John’s.

“St. John’s University is extremely proud to offer our students the opportunity to qualify for one of our legacy scholarships,” stressed Mark Andrews, Director of Alumni Relations. “These are scholarships that are awarded to students who are children or grandchildren of alumni, and in some cases, they are even offered to students who had a brother, sister, aunt, or uncle graduate from the University. St. John’s values our legacy students because we have seen over the years that our legacy families remain active in the life of the University by attending reunions, serving on committees and boards, and giving back in a variety of ways to a place they call home.”