CHARLESTON—As a part of its celebration of Black History Month, Bishop England High School teamed up with a devout couple to boost the school’s scholarship for minority students.
During February, the family of Tim and Mary Hayes decided to match every dollar donated — up to $7,500 — in support of the Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam Scholarship.
The four-year stipend was created in 2020 in partnership with the school and the Hayes family, with the aim of advancing the role Catholic education plays in breaking the cycle of poverty and closing the achievement gap for poor and minority students.
“The scholarship provides transformational support for a student to attend Bishop England High School for four years, and ensures that the student has access to resources they need to be successful in an inclusive, academically challenging environment, regardless of their family’s ability to pay,” said Lindsay Finneran, director of advancement at Bishop England.
The $50,000 scholarship covers the cost of tuition and fees over four years at Bishop England, along with education-related items such as textbooks and uniforms, Finneran said.
“The school is creating an opportunity where there are no barriers for that child to grow in their faith and complete a Catholic education,” Finneran said.
The first Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam Scholarship was awarded last spring to a female student. The student’s family has asked that she remain anonymous, Finneran said.
Ad majorem Dei gloriam comes from the Latin “to the greater glory of God” and is credited to St. Ignatius and subsequently adopted as the motto of the Jesuit community. The Hayeses drew inspiration from that phrase where, through their actions and the school’s, “God would be glorified, and others would be attracted to the goodness of God,” Finneran said.
“We’re looking for the Bishop England community to pay forward their good fortune, and help lift up a student in our community,” she said.
The current effort is aimed at rewarding the scholarship annually to a deserving minority student, Finneran said.
Currently, 11 percent of the Bishop England student body, or around 72 students, is non-white, a number that includes Black, Asian, Hispanic and other minority students.
For more information about the scholarship visit https://www.behs.com/support-a-be-student-scholarship/ and select the “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam Scholarship” in the drop-down menu, or go directly to that scholarship here.
