Charitable giving times four

Four siblings who graduated Arizona State University with distinction from Barrett, The Honors College have created a scholarship to give back to the community that gave so much to them.

Brett, Chase, Scott and Jenna Fitzgerald recently established the Fitzgerald Scholarship with an initial $25,000 endowment.

“Barrett gave my siblings and me a platform to succeed. We thought it was only right to give back to the school that gave us so much,” Scott said.

Chase echoed his brother’s thoughts: “Barrett has enabled my entire family to find fast and frequent success in our careers and we thought it fitting to, in turn, start paying back early and often.” 

The common threads that bind the Fitzgerald siblings are high academic achievement, leadership in community service, competitive professional endeavors and an interest in study abroad.

Brett graduated in 2013 with concurrent bachelor’s degrees in finance and legal studies and an international business certificate. He was a Fulbright English teaching assistant in South Korea and a Tillman Scholar. While at Barrett, he studied abroad each summer, visiting Costa Rica, Peru and Ecuador. Additionally, he was a Barrett Honors Devils member and Barrett Mentor. He currently works as an account executive for Mulesoft, a Salesforce company, in Chicago.

Chase graduated in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in biological and biomedical sciences. He was a Fulbright English teaching assistant in South Korea and a Tillman Scholar. During his junior year, he created Page Turners, a Barrett student organization that helps elementary school children develop reading skills. He also was a Barrett Ambassador, Barrett Honors Devils member and a Barrett Mentor. He participated in a China study abroad program and a clean water project in Honduras. This spring, he will graduate from the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix.

Scott graduated ASU in 2018 with bachelor’s degrees in finance and business data analytics. He was a Tillman Scholar, a Page Turners reader and a W. P. Carey School of Business office intern. He now works in information technology consulting with KPMG, a global professional services and accounting firm.

Jenna graduated in 2019 with concurrent bachelor’s degrees in marketing and psychology. She was a Tillman Scholar, an ASU Track and Field pole vaulter, a Barrett Ambassador, a W. P. Carey facilitator, ASU first year success coach and W. P. Carey office intern. She currently works in recruiting for Deloitte, a global accounting and professional services organization.

The Fitzgerald Scholarship is to support top honor students with financial need and an interest in national scholarships.

The Fitzgeralds prefer that scholarship recipients plan to apply through the Lorraine W. Frank Office of National Scholarship Advisement for a nationally-competed scholarship including Fulbright, Boren, Marshall, Rhodes and Truman.

In addition to scholarship funds, the Fitzgeralds will offer professional mentoring to recipients.

“We hope to support Barrett students and help them achieve their amazing potential, just like our mentors have done for us,” Jenna said.

We caught up with the Fitzgeralds to get their thoughts about Barrett, their fondest memories of the honors college and how their honors experience helped them get to where they are now. Here’s what they had to say:

Question: What drew you all to ASU and Barrett?

Scott: Deciding on Barrett and ASU was a no-brainer. Given that I wanted to stay in-state for my college education there was really only ever one option. Barrett provided a liberal arts college feel with the shared resources of a large public university. Having two brothers already build their own legacies at ASU, there was never a doubt in my mind on where I wanted to attend school.

Jenna: Witnessing how happy and successful my three older brothers were at ASU opened my eyes to all the amazing opportunities that come with such an inclusive, well-supported university. In addition, pairing that large university feeling with the intimate community Barrett fosters, I knew it was the right place for me too.

Q: What are your favorite memories from Barrett?

Chase: Living and developing a community as an on-campus Barrett student set me up for much of my academic and extracurricular successes, which were all proud experiences. However, my most fond memories come from the pride and support my Barrett friends and I were able to contribute to our sports teams, including one time where we found ourselves camping for tickets outside Wells Fargo Arena while studying and taking our first semester’s final exams.

Brett: My favorite memories from Barrett were developing my thesis with Pat Tillman Scholarship Program classmates, as well as study abroad trips with Professor (Ted) Humphrey and Associate Dean (Janet) Burke to Costa Rica, Peru and Ecuador!

Q: What was the most resourceful tool you utilized at Barrett?

Jenna: The community, hands down. Barrett selects such awesome community assistants (CAs) that live alongside freshman students and mentor them throughout their time at ASU. By integrating myself among them — some of the smartest, most compassionate individuals — I was able to discover a sense of self-worth and a worldly perspective that serves me to this day.

Scott: The Barrett dining hall will always hold a special place in my heart, but I think the most beneficial tool is the academic advisers. Cindy Patino was someone who I could go to for anything, whether it was concerns over my schedule or struggles in my personal life. Cindy provided me with continuous support throughout my college career.

Q: How did Barrett prepare you for life after college?

Brett: Barrett taught me how to think critically, balance a heavy workload and interact with students from all majors and backgrounds. The experience I had at Barrett and ASU has served as a microcosm of life and therefore, I’ve been able to take my learnings and be a successful Fulbright ETA and tech salesman postgraduation.

Chase: Barrett challenged me to embrace academic rigor as a tool for self-empowerment. My time living within the academic community also reinforced my beliefs of the importance of collaboration and intentional action and seeking out highly motivated people with disparate interests in order to bring fresh ideas to the table.

To learn more about how to apply for national scholarships, visit the Office of National Scholarship Advising website.