Our Work

For Briana, Catholic education has always felt like home.

A graduate of Quincy Catholic Academy, where she attended from kindergarten through eighth grade, Briana now returns each summer to work at the school’s summer camp. It is a full-circle experience for a student whose Catholic school journey has shaped her values, strengthened her confidence, and helped prepare her for her next chapter at Northeastern University.

This fall, Briana will begin her studies at Northeastern, where she plans to major in finance while pursuing a pre-law track. She is also considering political science as a minor or second major. Her long-term goal is to attend law school and use her voice to advocate for others.

“With the way the world is right now, I feel like it could use my voice,” Briana said. “I want to hopefully give a better future for future generations.”

Briana’s journey to high school began with both excitement and uncertainty. Ursuline Academy was one of her top choices, but the cost initially felt out of reach for her family. Then, after her mother reached out to the school to ask about financial aid, they learned there was additional support available through the Catholic Schools Foundation.

“I remember it just being a really great day for my family because we realized that we would be able to afford Ursuline, and I would be able to go,” Briana said.

That opportunity changed the course of her high school experience.

At Ursuline, Briana found a community defined by small class sizes, supportive teachers, and the kind of close-knit environment she had hoped for. Her graduating class included just 68 students, creating a strong sense of connection among classmates.

“They always call it a sisterhood, but it actually does feel like a sisterhood to me,” she said. “Everyone’s just there for each other and there to help each other.”

As she prepares for college, that sisterhood is what Briana says she will miss most.

“It’s such a unique experience,” she said. “A class of 68 girls who all know each other so well, I think the sisterhood is really what I’m going to miss most.”

Briana is also proud of the courage it took to enter a new environment. Coming from a small middle school, she arrived at Ursuline not knowing anyone. While the transition was intimidating, it pushed her to grow.

“I wanted to go because I knew it would be better for myself academically and more challenging,” she said. “But it was really scary just going there and not knowing anyone. Being in a completely new environment forced me to open up to more people and put myself out there more.”

Throughout high school, Briana challenged herself academically. She took AP European History and AP Computer Science as a sophomore; AP English Language and Composition, AP U.S. History, and AP Chemistry as a junior; and AP Art History, AP Physics 1, and AP Calculus BC as a senior.

AP Chemistry was especially difficult, she said, but with the support of teachers and tutors, she learned how to work through the challenge.

“I was so used to things just clicking,” she said. “But at some point, school becomes more than memorization. It’s learning it and being able to apply it.”

Briana also found ways to stay connected to her culture while attending a school where she sometimes felt like one of the only Asian students in her grade. She volunteered with Quincy Asian Resources, an experience that helped her connect with Asian peers and maintain an important part of her identity.

“I’m proud that I was able to keep and maintain my culture,” she said.

Her Catholic education also deepened her understanding of service, ethics, and advocacy. One of her most memorable classes was Morality and Justice, where students discussed social ethics, corruption, and how to advocate for others.

“I felt so privileged to go to a Catholic elementary and high school because I was able to receive this great education while also learning morals and the story of Christ,” she said. “In a Catholic school, it’s such a privilege to be able to learn things like morality and ethics and God’s word.”

Briana’s interest in finance grew from her curiosity about business and the many paths it can offer. Through a shadow day at Boston Consulting Group, she met an Ursuline alumna who had built a career that included project management and asset management. Briana was drawn to the flexibility and possibility within the business world.

“I liked that freedom of getting to choose what you want to do,” she said.

At Northeastern, Briana is excited to meet students from diverse backgrounds, take classes connected to her major, and explore the university’s co-op program. She is especially interested in the possibility of completing a co-op in China.

Her parents immigrated to the United States, and while her grandparents speak Chinese, Briana did not grow up learning the language. She hopes to take Chinese classes in college so she can better communicate with them and connect more deeply with her heritage.

“I’m really excited,” she said. “I want to learn the language and become more accommodated with it.”

Outside the classroom, Briana loves dance, which she has practiced since she was about five years old. She dances competitively and also enjoys spending time with friends, shopping, going to the beach, and working during the summer to save money for college.

Receiving the Harrison Scholarship was another defining moment in Briana’s journey. She remembers feeling nervous during the interview process after seeing how many other highly qualified students were also being considered.

“At first, I was just like, ‘I probably won’t get it,’” she said. “There were so many potential candidates.”

Two weeks later, she received the email that she had been selected.

“I was just so shocked,” she said. “And I was really happy.”

For Briana and her family, the Harrison Scholarship provided meaningful financial relief. Just as importantly, it affirmed her sense of purpose.

“It showed that my voice was important to people,” she said.

When asked what she would say to other students receiving support through the Catholic Schools Foundation, Briana said the scholarship is a sign that someone believes in them.

“To me, that scholarship meant the world,” she said. “It meant that someone believed in me and someone believed that I would be able to achieve a successful future despite my financial situation.”

And to the donors who make these scholarships possible, Briana expressed deep gratitude.

“I’m so grateful for the opportunity I’ve been given,” she said. “The fact that someone has faith in me just means so much to me.”

She also sees the impact of scholarship support extending far beyond one student.

“Their donations don’t just help me,” she said. “They help so many people. The people getting the scholarships are going to be future doctors, lawyers, social workers, honestly, anything. They’re able to fund people’s futures and invest in goodness.”

As Briana looks ahead to Northeastern and all that comes next, she carries with her the lessons of her Catholic education, the support of her family and school community, and the confidence that others believe in her potential.

“The Catholic Schools Foundation has been monumental toward my trajectory,” she said. “I wouldn’t have been able to attend Ursuline without it. It’s really boosted me up and helped me.”

Now, Briana is ready to take the next step with gratitude, determination, and a clear hope for the future.

“I’m looking forward to building a better future for everyone,” she said.