It Takes a Village

The Aim Higher Scholar Family series is an invitation for supporters and friends to meet some of the families who benefit from our renewable, need-based scholarships. We are deeply grateful to these families for sharing their stories..

The Irizarry Family: Highland Catholic

The Irizarry children were bound for Highland Catholic School since before they were born. Lucas (4th) and Gabby’s (6th) parents dreamed of it ever since they moved to Highland Park: “We always talked about wanting to have our kids in the neighborhood and be in a Catholic school. It’s part of who we are.”

When the kids were finally old enough to attend, Highland Catholic went from a school to a home. In their first few years at Highland, each day at lunch when he saw Gabby’s teacher on duty, Lucas would run up to her and tell her in a sassy tone, “I have a secret message for you to bring my sister.” She would respond, “All right, what’s the message?” Every day, the message back would be, “Tell my sister I love her.” When Kelsey, their mother, found this out at a conference, she knew that the relationships being built between and around her children were the most valuable investment she could make for her children.

“I cannot say enough wonderful things about Highland Catholic, I’m so grateful for that backbone, that support.” This community became all the more important when Lucas and Gabby’s father, who worked at Highland Catholic, passed away in June 2024. “They wrapped my kids in love and they wrapped us in love… I’m grateful because while they had a really hard year, they also had a really great year because if we had gone to a different school, it wouldn’t have been like that. ”

In response to this unexpected life change, the Aim Higher Foundation stepped in with a Reserve Fund Scholarship to ensure the Irizarry children could remain in their school community when they needed it most. Keylsey expresses her appreciation, “If we didn’t have the scholarship, I would have made it work to keep the kids at Highland Catholic because the love and support is what they needed most. But we would be sacrificing even more than we are now as a single-income family.”

The children’s late father would undoubtedly agree that the impact on their children’s lives is well worth the sacrifice. Kelsey often remembers him saying, “‘I don’t care how smart my kids are. I need to know – are they kind? I need to know – are they good humans? Are they learning how to be the best person they can be?’” 

With support from Aim Higher donors, the Irizarry family is able to continue to focus on the education that really matters: education of the whole person. The Aim Higher Foundation is proud to support the Irizarry family and many others who are seeking a loving learning environment that they can call home.