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Contact Information
Annual Fund Office

Sarah Lacz, MBA
Vice President of Institutional Advancement
Santa Rita Hall, 1st Floor

Phone: (973) 290-4455
slacz@steu.edu

Sister Francis Raftery Student Relief Fund

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On May 2, 2020, Sr. Francis Raftery, the sixth president of Saint Elizabeth University, was born into eternal life. While Sr. Francis served the institution as president for 16 years, she began her tenure as a faculty member and continued to advance in her career. As chair of the education department, Sr. Francis was instrumental in shaping the program. In fact, she was responsible for securing Saint Elizabeth's first doctoral program in Educational Leadership.

Throughout her career Sr. Francis was focused on one thing: ensuring all students had access to a high-quality education. Inspired by this passion for teaching and learning, both the Sister Francis Scholarship and the Sister Francis Student Relief Fund were named in her honor.

Help us make sure that Sr. Francis' legacy continues by making a gift to the Sister Francis Raftery Scholarship Relief Fund.

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Success Stories

Below are examples of students who have benefited from the scholarship and relief fund.

Moises Garcia, '20

This spring, Moises became the first man to graduate as an educator from SEU's traditional undergraduate education program. His teaching abilities earned him recognition as a Distinguished Clinical Intern by the New Jersey State Department of Education.

As a recipient of scholarship support from the Sister Francis Raftery Student Relief Fund, our generous donors facilitated Moises's ability to earn his degree and become the teacher that he needed growing up.

Jessica Velasquez-Julca, '20

Jessica received the Sister Francis Raftery Scholarship and earned the Elizabeth Ann Maloney Award of Distinction at graduation. Inspired by the charism of the Sisters of Charity, Jessica has dedicated her life to helping others. She's an EMT, a medical scribe and an AmeriCorps member serving at a community health center.

As a first-generation college student, born to hardworking parents who immigrated to the US from Ecuador with very little, she required assistance in attending school. Due to your gifts, Jessica was able to earn a degree in biology and intends to continue positively impacting the world by becoming a cardiologist.

Memories of Sr. Fran

"Sr. Francis always brought out the best in everyone. She took a chance on me over three decades ago. To this day, I will never forget her insistence on justice in education before it became a buzzword. I would not be the educator, person and parent without her encouragement and support."
- Deba Z.