Luncheon Celebrates Constantino First Generation Scholarship

This year, the Fannie and Sam Constantino First Generation Scholarship Program at St. John Fisher University welcomed its 24th cohort to campus.

The program was launched through the generous philanthropy of Charlie Constantino ’61 and his wife, Elaine. A member of St. John Fisher’s Trustees Emeriti Society, the Constantinos are the founding sponsors and continuous supporters of the scholarship, which provides financial and academic assistance to students who exhibit a high degree of motivation and academic potential, and are the first in their family to earn a degree from a post-secondary institution. The scholarship is named in honor of Charlie’s parents, Fannie and Sam, who impressed a philosophy of philanthropy upon their children and were among the first Catholic parishioners to donate to the Basilian Fathers plan to found Fisher in the mid-1940s.

On Monday, Oct. 31, Fisher celebrated the scholarship program with a luncheon that provided an opportunity for Charlie and Elaine’s son, Chuck Constantino ’84, daughter, Caryn Hurwitz ’88, and granddaughter, Aerin Gleason, to meet and connect with current scholars. Following in her family’s footsteps—in all, more than 30 immediate and extended members of the Constantino family have attended Fisher—Gleason is currently enrolled in the mental health counseling program through the Wegmans School of Nursing.

Since its founding, the scholarship has provided more than $27,180,000 in financial assistance to more than 645 Fisher students. During the lunch, students had the opportunity to share with the Constantino family the many ways the scholarship has impacted their Fisher experience.