Inspired by support received as a student, medicine graduate becomes first Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine alum to establish endowed scholarship

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–By Clara-Meretan Kiah and Ileana Varela Dr. Michele Benjamin believes in paying it forward. As a student at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Dr. Benjamin benefitted from the financial support of several scholarships. Now she wants to give back. And so, the beneficiary has become a benefactor. Currently a family medicine resident at Miami’s […]

CARTA alumna’s gift will help minority-owned small businesses thrive

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Silvana Massolo ’04 has made a quarter-million dollar commitment to support FIU alumni-owned businesses     A new and uncommon opportunity will soon be available to budding alumni entrepreneurs in the communication, art and design fields. With a gift from Silvana Massolo ’04, College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts (CARTA) alumni will have the opportunity to […]

Young alum joins Pathway to Philanthropist program with gift to establish scholarship for first-generation students

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With a recent gift to establish the Ruth Andrade – Jose Alberto Maldonado Zavala Scholarship Endowment, computer science alumnus and first-generation college graduate Jose Maldonado ’17 has become one of the first members of FIU’s Pathway to Philanthropist program. The scholarship will benefit first-generation students in the Honors College, of which Maldonado is a graduate, […]

With gift to establish scholarship endowment in honor of her teenage daughters, FIU employee joins new Pathway to Philanthropist program

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Inspired to set an example for her two teenage daughters about the positive impact women can make in the world, Smilka Melgoza recently made a gift to establish the Vivian and Vanessa Melgoza Scholarship Endowment at FIU. The scholarship is named for her 13- and 15-year-old daughters and will support students in the Honors College, […]

Rebuilding the engine: Philanthropy for the next generation

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–By Nina Rose  Alberto García Marrero was out of gas.   It was spring 2019, his second-to-last semester at FIU, just a handful of credits away from earning his bachelor’s in international business. Marrero’s FIU tuition was paid for by scholarships, but he helped his parents out financially and could barely cover his living expenses.   Marrero was running out of money, and student loans might be his only solution. He was at the gas […]