Helping students receive a quality education that can set them on paths to success in life is part of the mission of The Howley Foundation.
Through The Howley Foundation’s generosity, 29 students are experiencing a Padua Franciscan High School education. On Thursday, September 11, 2025, members of The Howley Foundation, including Founder and Trustee Lorie Howley, President and Chief Operating Officer Halle Martin and Allison Busser, the Director in Cleveland, enjoyed breakfast with the Bruins they support.
“We believe in you and think you’re destined for great things,” Martin told the students. “The school believes in you. They chose you originally, and they recommended you to us because they believe in you. We hope that you have a great year, and that you are living up to your potential. We think you’ll do good things.
“For you seniors, good luck applying to schools. Please let us know how it goes and where you’re going. We wish all of you the best of luck.”
The Howley Scholars Program offers renewable scholarships for all four years at Padua Franciscan High School. Their generosity ensures students and families have the necessary financial resources to receive a premier Franciscan college preparatory education.
To initially and continue receiving the scholarship, each Howley Scholar must maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average, make meaningful contributions to extracurricular activities and be in good standing at Padua.
“I want to express my gratitude for your support,” Padua senior Olivia Skotnicki said during the breakfast. “I still remember my freshman year like it was yesterday. I was very scared to begin, but over time, you will all find your people and feel right at home.
“This Foundation has helped me and my classmates so much. Before Padua, math was a struggle, but thanks to the math classes here, I’ve improved so much. If you would’ve told my seventh-grade self I was in AP Pre-Calculus right now, I wouldn’t have believed you. Don’t be afraid to push yourself. Don’t be afraid of new things. Everything that’s meant to happen will happen. Thank you again to The Howley Foundation for all of these amazing opportunities you have given us.”
Created by Nick and Lorie Howley in 2003, The Howley Foundation was started to give academic scholarships and tuition assistance to students. In addition to supporting the Cristo Rey Network and other uniquely effective education models, The Foundation assists more than 1,400 elementary, high school and college students in Cleveland and Philadelphia.
Along with funding high school scholarships and meaningful elementary school programs for underprivileged students, The Howley Foundation recently began awarding college and university scholarships.
“It’s such a blessing to have people with us that help us be our best selves,” Padua President Dave Stec said during the breakfast. “It’s a real wonderful moment to share in that ministry. Here at Padua, our motto is ‘In Holiness and Learning.’ It’s on everybody’s shirts. It says that we believe in being Happy, Healthy, Holy and Highly Prepared. That’s what we’re called to do, and we do that together with other people.
“As Howley Scholars, you’re here because of people who care about you and want you to have that opportunity to have a great education and develop yourself into a person of caring, a person of faith. That’s a challenge for us all, to continue to learn every day, to take advantage of all the good things here at this school, but also, to be our best selves, to make our world better, to bring peace, to be a person of care, a person of prayer, a person of service. That’s our hope for you as adults.
“All we can hope for is to become our best selves and continue to try to live out our motto of ‘In Holiness and Learning.’ We do that today with The Howley Foundation. God bless them for their generosity and abundance to you, for allowing you to be here at Padua. We love having you here at Padua. The school year has started great, and we are fully alive.”
