On Thursday, April 16, 2015, Student Sponsor Partners’ friends and supporters celebrated the organization’s mission and students. The sixteenth annual event, emceed by Board Chairman, Christopher Niehaus and Executive Director, Denise Durham Williams, gathered over 400 donors, sponsors, mentors, and their guests at the Pierre Hotel ballroom. The event raised $1,940,852, which supports SSP’s invaluable work to help low income students reach their full potential through academic scholarships.
The festivities highlighted SSP’s longtime partnership with Goldman, Sachs & Co., the recipient of the 2015 Founder’s Award. For over 13 years, Goldman Sachs has supported an excellent non-public school education for 1,750 SSP students. Goldman Sachs Gives donor-advised fund and 350 of the firm’s employees have generously contributed $7MM toward SSP students’ academic success. In addition, nearly 750 Goldman Sachs employees have served as mentors to SSP students. Accepting the award were four members of the SSP Board who are also partners at the firm: Bill Anderson, Colleen Foster, Pete Lyon, and Lora Robertson. The passion and leadership exhibited by these individuals have made it possible for the SSP mission to be woven into the fabric of the firm.
The evening also highlighted the success of three SSP senior students and the recent recipients of the inaugural Peter M. Flanigan Scholarship.. The Peter M. Flanigan Scholarship, named after SSP’s late founder Peter M. Flanigan, is funded by the Kovner Foundation and recognizes 3 outstanding SSP students who have made the most of their high school experience both academically and in the extracurricular arena. Each student will receive up to $10,000 per year towards their college education and have already received counsel from R&R Education Consulting in preparation for their college applications. Renai Foster (The Mary Louis Academy’15), Ashley Gonzalez-Melo (St. Raymond Academy ’15), and Albert Peraza (Mount St. Michael Academy ’15) spoke about their experiences in the SSP program and the impact of the support of their sponsors and mentors. Peraza, who is currently making his college decision between NYU and Boston College, surprised the crowd with his dream which was apropos for the evening: “I plan to study finance in college and live my dream of becoming an investment banker at Goldman Sachs.”
SSP’s dinner guests were also inspired by Robert Spencer, an SSP alumnus and a member of the Cardinal Hayes High School Class of 1997. Robert Spencer is currently a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs. After repeating the 8th grade, Spencer was fortunate to have been given a chance to attend Cardinal Hayes through the SSP program: “22 years ago I would apply to SSP and start on a path that would change my life.”That path led Spencer to continued success such as graduating from Duke University, a series of internships at Goldman Sachs, and now full employment where he has worked in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and currently Dallas with the firm. He was in attendance with his original sponsor, Brian, his first SSP sponsee, Adrian, who is now a schoolteacher in NY, and his sponsee’s current mentee, Zach, who is now an SSP student at Cardinal Hayes High School.
At the end of the evening, the evening’s featured guest, legendary Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera, made remarks regarding the importance of supporting youth and education. He is the Founder of The Mariano Rivera Foundation, which is devoted to supporting youth success in communities around the world. Individuals who committed to sponsoring an SSP student that evening were given a signed Mariano Rivera New York Yankees baseball cap. With the same enthusiasm, Denise Durham Williams presented Rivera with an SSP cap signed by students in attendance at the end of the evening.
SSP would like to thank everyone who was involved in making this event so successful.
If you are interested in supporting SSP’s mission and students, click here.
Mariano Rivera with our Flanigan Scholars
Vice Chairman Robert Niehaus, Honoree Bill Anderson, Honoree Pete Lyon, Vice Chairman Kevin Conway, Honoree Lora Robertson, and Chairman Chris Niehaus
Denise Durham Williams and Chris Niehaus welcome the crowd
SSP Alum Robert Spencer tells the group about his experience as an SSP Student
Featured Speaker Mariano Rivera
Flanigan Scholar Albert Peraza
