Staying True to Your Values
Through a planned gift, the legacy of Patricia Schall ’68 will support future students.
Posted in: Montclair State University Donors
Peter Wosh believes you must stay true to your values, remember your roots and pay it forward by giving back. By honoring his wife’s wishes to leave a legacy at her alma mater, he is doing all that and more.
Through a planned gift to the University for undergraduate scholarships in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the legacy of Patricia Schall ’68 will support future students for many generations to come. Committed to education, Patricia was a first-generation college student. She majored in English, went on to earn a master’s and a doctorate at New York University, and was a longtime professor at Saint Elizabeth University in Morristown.
“Montclair gave Pat a new life and career,” says Peter.
Peter, too, values the role of education in his life. He grew up of modest means in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. His paternal grandparents were laborers who settled in New Jersey after emigrating from Poland. He shares that his father barely finished elementary school to support his family, and he strongly felt his son should receive a more formal education. As a result, Peter was the first in his family to obtain a college degree. He commuted to Rutgers University, and after graduating from Rutgers, he went on to receive his master’s and doctorate in history from New York University.
For the couple, being first-generation college graduates in their families motivated them to give back, especially to Montclair’s first-generation students. “Higher education is really important and a stepping stone to provide a better life,” says Peter. “I feel strongly about supporting first-generation students, and Pat did too. It is important…to give something back to a new generation that has its own struggles. We felt we got a lot from our undergraduate education, and we needed to give something back.”
Like Peter and Patricia, you can help build a brighter future for Montclair State students through a gift in your estate plan. To learn more, contact Ely F. Santoni, CFRE at 973-655-3695 or santonituere@montclair.edu.