Getting a college degree changed the life of Lou Zuccarello and future generations of his family.
Lou Zuccarello was a straight-A student, on track to becoming class valedictorian at Mount St. Michael Academy, a Marist Brothers high school in the Bronx, and winning debate competitions all over New York City. But college? It didn’t look like college was going to happen.Lou’s father passed away suddenly at the age of 51, when Lou was 16, and his mother took over the family dressmaking business. “No one in my family had been to college,” Lou remembered, “so I had no idea how to navigate the world of higher education, much less the world of financial aid. But my mother was steadfast in her insistence that I go to college. I envisioned working days and somehow saving enough money to go to night school.”It was a Marist Brother at his school who reached out to St. John’s University, pitched Lou’s potential, and helped Lou navigate his way to a full scholarship. Lou commuted by subway nearly two hours in each direction, graduating summa cum laude in 1958.That Marist Brother, Ed Cashin ’52, later moved to Marist College and recruited Lou to the faculty in 1966. Dr. Zuccarello, who retired as a professor of political science in 2001, led the creation of the Criminal Justice department and served as academic vice president and academic dean from 1975 to 1980.“Getting a college degree changed the script not only for Lou, but for future generations of our family,” said Barbara Zuccarello, Lou’s wife of more than 60 years and a longtime volunteer leader for the Marist College Center for Lifetime Study. “All three of our boys graduated college and have built fulfilling careers and beautiful families. We’ve always said that if we ever had the financial means to do so, we wanted to help create more stories like Lou’s.”Lou and Barbara established the Zuccarello Family Scholarship, supporting talented Marist students from the Bronx with demonstrated financial need.“The Marist community has been our home for 56 years,” Lou said. “Barbara and I are blessed beyond our wildest imagination, and we hope others will follow our lead and make stories like ours possible for future generations.”
Students are applying for support from the fund that Marist President Kevin Weinman and his wife, Beth, established to broaden access to internships, attachment programs, and individual tutoring.
A fund launched by President Kevin Weinman and his wife, Beth, to widen student access to a range of meaningful academic activities has drawn great interest among undergraduates.The President’s Fund for Equity in the Marist Experience supports internships, attachment programs such as courses that include a travel component, and individual tutoring. Awards are intended for students enrolled in an undergraduate, degree-seeking program who demonstrate significant financial need and where financial constraints are a barrier to their participation in these activities.As of mid-March, 123 applications for funding had been received. So far, 72 students have received funds, with the majority of the awards supporting courses with a travel component.The Weinmans established the fund in December 2021 with a pledge of $250,000. Since then, a number of donors, including 100 percent of the College’s Board of Trustees, have added generously to it.Soon after arriving at Marist in fall 2021, Weinman saw a way he could help make an impact on the student experience.“In my short time here, it is already abundantly clear to me that Marist is thriving, yet has the potential to achieve even greater heights,” Weinman said at the time. “One of the ways Marist can do so is to attract, enroll, and retain a diverse group of talented students and enable them to experience the full range of curricular and co-curricular offerings once they arrive, regardless of their financial circumstances. Our pledge is intended to be one small step towards helping all of our students to reach their full potential and get the most out of their Marist experience.”Inspired by the Weinmans’ gift, Chair of the Board of Trustees Ross Mauri ’80 and his wife, Barbara, matched it with a pledge of their own. This past fall, Mauri announced that every member of the Board of Trustees also had made a pledge to the fund in honor of Weinman’s inauguration Sept. 23. The College would also like to recognize the generous gift to the fund made by Emily Saland and her husband, Jesse. Emily is vice president of strategic initiatives and chief of staff at Marist.Applications are reviewed in a competitive process to distribute funding by committees from Marist’s Academic Affairs office, Academic Learning Center, Center for Career Services, and Office of International Programs. Student Financial Services and the Business Affairs Office are responsible for confirming eligibility and overseeing the distribution of awards.The College’s goal is to continue to grow the fund, the range of activities it supports, and its impact on students. The Advancement Office is still actively seeking additional support for this important objective. To make a contribution to the President’s Fund for Equity in the Marist Experience, please visit marist.edu/presidentsfundLouis Greenspan Endowed Fund for Equity in the Marist ExperienceIn addition to the significant term funding that has been secured for the President’s Fund for Equity in the Marist Experience, the College is pleased to announce the establishment of a new endowed fund that was recently established through a generous grant from the Louis Greenspan Charitable Trust to support these important objectives on an ongoing basis. When fully funded, the Louis Greenspan Endowed Fund for Equity in the Marist Experience will provide a perpetual source of support for internships, attachment programs such as courses that include a travel component, and individual tutoring. The College is most grateful to Greenspan Trustees Dan Curtin and Gary Koch for their ongoing commitment to Marist and the many ways the trust has enhanced the world-class opportunities, experiences, and facilities that are available to Marist students.
Kicker Makes Pro Bowl, Leads NFL in Scoring, Makes Playoffs
Marist graduate Jason Myers completed a magnificent 2022 season for the Seattle Seahawks, one which was complete with late-game heroics, postseason play, outstanding statistics, and terrific accolades.Myers is in his eighth season in the NFL as a placekicker and his fourth with the Seahawks. On the last day of the NFL regular season on Sunday, Jan. 8, Myers’ 32-yard field goal in overtime lifted the Seahawks to a 19–16 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. This result, coupled with the Detroit Lions’ victory over the Green Bay Packers, secured a playoff berth for the Seahawks. Although Seattle fell to San Francisco in the wildcard round, Myers made his presence felt with a 56-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.Myers was rewarded with his second career trip to the Pro Bowl and was named First Team All-Pro by the NFL Players’ Association. In the 2022 regular season, Myers led the NFL in scoring with 143 points. He converted 34 of his 37 field goal attempts and 42 of his 43 extra point tries. He also had 54 touchbacks on kickoffs.Myers is a 2013 Marist graduate who was a four-year member of the football program from the 2009 through 2012 seasons. He set the program record for longest field goal in 2011, which came from 49 yards out. That mark was equaled by Luke Paladino in 2019.Myers started his NFL career in Jacksonville. He kicked for the Jaguars from 2015 to 2017 before enjoying a Pro Bowl season with the New York Jets in 2018. He then signed a multiyear contract with Seattle in March of 2019.
