Student learned ‘anything is possible’
Inner-City Scholarship Fund helped Martinez attain success
Jason Martinez, 23, of Lawrence, is one of the many students who have benefited from the Catholic Schools Foundation’s Inner-City Scholarship Fund, which pays tuition to top Catholic schools for nearly 4,000 kids a year based on economic need. Jason says the opportunity the foundation gave him was a life-changer allowing him to graduate from Central Catholic High School in 2012 and Bentley University in 2016, before being hired by State Street, the Boston-based global financial services company. Here is Jason’s experience, in his own words:
“My young teenage life was easy and the future clear: Go to basketball practice, do my homework, attend a reputable prep school, play for Coach K at Duke, then get drafted by the Boston Celtics. My master plan was set.
It was set until the end of 8th grade and I was just cracking that elusive 5-foot5 barrier when something clicked: I needed a plan B.
If I was to become the first person in my family to graduate college, I knew Central Catholic High School in Lawrence would be the answer. I also knew that my family couldn’t afford the tuition.
When Kevin Garnett won his first championship with the Celtics, he hysterically screamed into the mic: “Anything is possible!” This was my reaction when I found out I received a scholarship to attend Central Catholic.
At Central, my teachers wouldn’t move past their lesson plans unless everyone understood the material. My coaches taught me life lessons that stemmed outside of basketball. My campus ministers provided brown-bag lunches when we were tight on money. My mentors gave me hope and helped me become confident in my abilities. My Catholic education not only helped me become a great student, but helped me mature into an adult.
Who would’ve thought? A big-headed troublemaker from Lawrence attends Bentley University, a top 10 business school, travels the world and works for one of the top global custodian banks, State Street.
Because of the InnerCity Scholarship Fund, I can quote the great Kevin Garnett and say that “Anything is possible!”