This year marks the 20th anniversary of the very first Scholarship Dinner, our single biggest fundraiser of the year. The 2024 Impact Honoree is Father Mark Connell, the person who set us on this journey to break the cycle of poverty through education for the children of Newburgh. Along the way, we have expanded beyond the original middle school mission. Our 12-year commitment to each student has led to our students earning spots at top-tier high schools around the country. Overall, our graduates’ college success rate is well above the national average. Having made the decision to become a coed institution in 2020, we are so thrilled that girls in Newburgh are enjoying the same opportunities as our boys have had.
So many of you shared in the vision years ago that rowing could create greater possibilities for our students. Fast forward, and we now have many boys rowing in college and both boys and girls accessing some of the best high schools in the country. Our rowers have reached national stature as San Miguel Academy supports one of the largest scholastic rowing programs in the country. The program has been singled out two years running by the Giants Foundation and NFL PLAY 60 for its success.
This project has succeeded because of the belief and trust that people had twenty years ago and continues to succeed because of our community’s ongoing commitment. San Miguel Academy has been a source of light in the darkness of the city of Newburgh and a beacon of hope to countless children and their families.
