Jesuit High School held its second annual Scholarship Luncheon in the Harris Center on Nov. 7.

Jesuit alumni and donors came to the campus to have lunch, hear messages about the school’s mission, and donate money for the Scholarship Endowment Fund.

Current scholarship recipient Edgar Benitez ’20 served as the event’s student speaker, and former scholarship recipient Mr. Tim Jeffries ’81 delivered the keynote address.

Edgar moved to the United States from Guatemala as a young child, and his family was not very wealthy. Because he would have had a hard time paying for Jesuit, the school’s scholarship efforts helped give him a Jesuit education. Edgar was appreciative of his opportunity to enjoy the school’s advantages.

“Eventually, I received information about my scholarship, which significantly reduced the cost of attending,” Edgar said during his speech at the luncheon. “The aid given to me allowed me to become a Marauder, and it helped me reach my gold standard.”

For Mr. Jeffries, giving back to the Jesuit community is essential. Mr. Jeffries’s family was able to pay for his freshman year at Jesuit, but right before the beginning of his sophomore year, his life took a hard turn. He had a single mother, and they were broke. 

Fr. Gerald Wade, S.J., president of Jesuit at the time, told Mr. Jeffries to keep coming back to school and told his mother that she could pay Jesuit whenever she had the money. He ended up not paying for the rest of high school. Now, he is giving back to the institution that is so special to him, the institution that “saved his soul.”

“So way before Jesuit had financial aid, I was on it,” Mr. Jeffries said. “And I vowed I would pay Jesuit back, ten fold, one hundred fold. Why? The education, sure! No, they helped me save my soul.” 

Currently, Jesuit High School is able to give $1.3 million in tuition assistance to 300 families each year. The school collected over $500,000 in donations from this year’s Scholarship Luncheon, and that money will go to student tuition assistance.