The William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, Inc., has awarded a $60,000 grant to support the expansion of the Students Together Achieving Remarkable Success (STARS) Program at Marywood University.

STARS was developed as a collaboration with Marywood’s Office of Equity and Inclusion specifically to support the academic success and career exploration of local Latinix youth while also preparing Marywood students to serve effectively in diverse, local, national and global communities.

The STARS Program has proven success in its support of Latinx high school students in the Scranton School District. The much-needed expansion, enabled through the generosity of the McGowan Fund, will support middle and high school students and their families, as they journey on the path to academic success. It will also allow the program to serve more Latinx families in the community, as well as provide more educational activities and experiences to expose them to diverse opportunities and career paths in the local area.

"Programs like STARS are necessary to ensure we are preparing our youth to become our future leaders,” said Jenny Gonzalez Monge, LMSW ’19, director of the STARS program. “Thanks to the McGowan Fund's support and believing in our mission and vision, STARS will be able to continue to grow and provide quality and holistic educational resources, information and services, to more families, using a community centered approach."

Affirming Marywood’s mission and belief that education empowers people, Sister Mary Persico ’69, IHM, Ed.D., said the university is committed to helping these students realize and reach their full potential and to access abundant career opportunities.

"For more than 100 years, Marywood has adapted to challenges, both big and small. We will continue to come together to lift one another up, demonstrating the same strength and fortitude the IHM Sisters used to establish Marywood in 1915," noted Sister Mary.