A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, IN TRUE LA SALLE FASHION

Each year that La Salle welcomes students through its doors, the school walks a delicate tightrope; it is constantly balancing its fundraising needs with its mission to grant quality education to all, including those lacking the financial means to access one independently.

One core way La Salle gives the gift of high quality education to students is through its cornerstone program, the San Miguel Scholarship.

The work of former president Dr. Richard Gray, who passed away in 2021, remains throughout the fiber of La Salle, from the part he played in overseeing construction of Kohorst Field, to the STEAM laboratory and Blakeslee Learning Commons on campus. But Dr. Gray is perhaps most well remembered for creating the San Miguel Scholarship program in 2001. To date, 144 San Miguel Scholars have graduated from the school, fulfilling the Christian Brothers’ vision of serving the impoverished and opening doors for those most in need. When current school president Perry Martin reflects on the legacy of Dr. Gray’s work at La Salle, he mentions that “no initiative was more important to Dr. Gray than the San Miguel program.”

The program offers scholarships to academically deserving students whose families live at or below the federal poverty line. Those granted the scholarship represent approximately 5% of the student body each year, offering students a comprehensive La Salle experience, covering tuition for all four years and including funds for college visits, textbooks, devices, Prom, athletics, and uniforms.

The scholarship relies on the support of generous donors throughout the school community. Some like Leigh and Harry Olivar have been involved with La Salle for years. Their son David Jackson attended from 2008 to 2012; their second La Salle student Harry Olivar III graduated in 2021.

Leigh and Harry have served the school in different capacities; Leigh, a former commercial building designer for Coca-Cola, served on the Board of Regents and was instrumental in the school’s rebranding in 2017 and 2018. Her husband, Harry, an attorney, currently serves as a memeber of the Board of Trustees. The Olivars have hosted several school-related gatherings at their home and have donated generously to the Dr. Richard Gray Memorial - San Miguel Scholarship Fund over the years.

With the many ways one can give back to the school, why focus on donating specifically to a fund for the San Miguel scholarships? It starts with Dr. Gray: “Dr. Gray always shared that La Salle’s scholarship and financial aid programs set us apart from other schools and establish our legacy for the future,” Leigh noted.

Over the years, the Olivars have been happy to welcome students into their home, like their son David’s close friend and San Miguel Scholar Mariana Henry ’12, who they think of as an extended family member. Discussing the values La Salle imparts to its students, Leigh and Harry note that La Salle develops caring, good people. “I was just so happy to have La Salle students in my living room including over Christmas time,” Leigh says. Harry beams as he describes Mariana’s use of La Salle’s quality education to launch herself into college at UC Davis, and graduate programs at Yale and Dartmouth. They have seen firsthand the opportunities a Lasallian education can open to ambitious, bright people from all walks of life. assistance to attend the school; they view this as a benefit to the La Salle community. “We like that the student body is representative of the community and when your children go to La Salle, they are with a diverse group of students,” the couple said.

“Mariana, to me, exemplified the benefits of La Salle and the joy of knowing someone like her,” adds Leigh. “I saw a lot of dedication and kindness and just a wonderful human we were privileged to know in our family,” she adds.

The school has a place in their heart as well, given their children’s experience. Their son David “called it the school of heaven,” Leigh says. “He was involved in all the activities, excelling in academics, clubs, drama, and sports like track and water polo. I had to beg him to come home at the end of the school day,” she laughs.

When friends ask Leigh why she is such an ardent ambassador of La Salle, she insists that her ease in promoting the school stems from the caring community and students she has gotten to know over the years.

For Mariana Henry, the feeling she has for the Olivars is mutual. She considers their son David like a brother and describes Leigh and Harry as caring, generous people who are invested in La Salle students’ education.

Looking back, Mariana feels La Salle ingrained in her the importance of being of service, counting it as one of the driving forces behind her desire to train as a medical doctor. She notes that La Salle anatomy class lit a passion within her for the nutrition and medical fields. After earning a Masters degree at Yale in Chronic Epidemiology, Mariana is now at Dartmouth medical school and thinks she will specialize in internal medicine.

For Mariana, one of the gifts of attending La Salle on the San Miguel Scholarship was the feeling that she belonged there. “Being a San Miguel Scholar at La Salle was indicative of feeling supported there. It relieved stressors of being able to afford books and being involved in sports,” she says.

The Olivars are aware that up to 35% of the student body at La Salle receive some form of financial

“At La Salle, it is a goal to graduate good people,” she explains. “The school’s principles are not just words on the page; the people who attend the school exemplify its principles.”

Their youngest son Harry echoes that sentiment; when he was weighing his options of which high school to attend, he felt something special at La Salle, “Those are the kindest people I have ever been around,” he said.