PAWTUCKET – Solid Christian values instilled at home and strengthened at Bishop Keough Regional High School have strongly influenced Farah Figuereo to make good moral decisions and to plan on a career of service as a healthcare professional.
The 18-year-old Bishop Keough senior said that without the Catholic high school education made possible by the financial assistance provided through the Catholic Charity Appeal, she wouldn’t be focused academically and headed for college in the fall. Figuereo will attend Trinity College in Washington, D.C., where she will major in physical therapy.
Growing up in South Providence, the St. Michael Church parishioner credits her parents, Genny and Luis Figuereo, for always emphasizing the value of an education and the importance of church teachings. She added that these values have helped her to succeed and not fall into the same traps that have ensnared many of her peers in the neighborhood.
Figuereo is one of the 317 Catholic high school students in the Diocese of Providence who received financial assistance from a $284,000 Catholic Charity Fund grant. The awards, which average $900 each, are based on demonstrated need. Families submit a financial aid application to the FACTS Grants and Assessment Service, which sends the Catholic School Office a ranked order of need report that governs how financial assistance will be distributed.
Bishop Keough Principal Jeanne Leclerc said that at least 60 percent of the school’s 65 students receive some form of financial aid, either from the diocese or the school.
“These are students who want a Catholic education and whose parents want a Catholic education for them,” said Leclerc, noting that she has witnessed an increasing need for financial aid since she became principal 21 years ago. The annual tuition at Bishop Keough is $8,900. The tuition at some Catholic high schools in the diocese costs more than $12,000 a year.
Figures from the Catholic Schools Office show that funding provided through the appeal makes it possible for more than 300 high school students to receive a Catholic education.
Leclerc said many families’ situations change during the four years that their daughter is enrolled at Bishop Keough due to job loss and other economic hardships, placing an even greater demand on the need for financial assistance.
Figuereo said that a learning environment within a Christian atmosphere has taught her to set priorities and acknowledge the things that matter most in life.
“I love helping others and putting a smile on their face,” she said.
“My parents wanted me to receive a Catholic education,” Figuereo emphasized, noting that her studies in high school have enhanced the strong academic and spiritual foundation she received earlier at Blessed Sacrament School.
Figuereo added that without financial assistance from the Catholic Charity Fund, she wouldn’t have been able to afford a Catholic high school education.
Like many two-income families, the Figuereos’ financial stability was heavily impacted last year when Genny lost her job and was forced to work part-time as a bus monitor at a considerably lower hourly wage.
“I don’t think my daughter would have been able to continue here without the financial aid,” Genny Figuereo said. “There is no way we could have done it. It makes a big difference.
“I think it’s not only the good education the students receive, but a Catholic education ignites a little light deep inside that helps them strive to be a better human being.”
Financial Assistance
The Catholic Charity Fund provides tuition assistance to the following Catholic High Schools:
Bishop Hendricken
57 Students
Bishop Keough
16 Students
La Salle Academy
126 Students
Mount St. Charles
17 Students
Our Lady of Fatima
3 Students
St. Mary Academy
- Bay View
13 Students
St. Patrick Academy
13 Students
St. Raphael Academy
59 Students
The Prout School
13 Students
Information provided by the Catholic Schools Office
