Our Work

Every Student Has a Story: Looking Back at the Voices That Inspired Our Galas

When Jasselis Lopez stood before Catholic Schools Foundation donors as the 2016 student speaker, she was a senior at Fontbonne Academy preparing to graduate and pursue her dream of working in women’s health. Nearly a decade later, Jasselis returned to the CSF community with a powerful reflection: the investment donors made in her education did not end at graduation. It continues to shape the woman she is today and the lives she now touches through her work.

“It’s worth it,” Jasselis said when asked what she would tell CSF donors today. “The investment in giving people the opportunity to have access to such great education and resources is unmatched. That’s the foundation of our lives.”

Jasselis first received support from CSF after transferring to Sacred Heart School in Roslindale in sixth grade. Before that, she had attended Boston Public Schools, including Orchard Gardens and the Haley School. But after experiencing severe bullying, threats, and fear about returning to school, her grandmother and aunt made the difficult decision to enroll her at Sacred Heart.

It was a choice made out of love, but also one that came with real financial uncertainty. CSF helped make that choice possible.

“Without the financial help and stability provided by CSF, I would not be the person I am today,” Jasselis shared in her 2016 gala speech.

At Sacred Heart, Jasselis found more than a new school. She found teachers and mentors who helped her rebuild her confidence, believe in herself, and see that being different was not something to fear. She graduated second in her class and earned a merit scholarship to attend Fontbonne Academy in Milton, where CSF support continued to help make her education possible.

Fontbonne became, in her words, a second home. There, Jasselis grew into a young woman of courage: someone who could speak up, care deeply for others, and lead with compassion. She was recognized with the Regis College Book Award, attended the Boston College Summer Experience Program, and was accepted to ten colleges before graduation.

After Fontbonne, Jasselis continued her education at UMass Boston, where she double majored in Health Sciences and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, graduating in 2021. She went on to work in the medical field, including several years as a Cytology and Surgical Coordinator at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

But even as she built a career in the lab, Jasselis knew she wanted to work more directly with people.

“I am such a people person,” she said. “Being in the lab is very much behind the scenes. You see all the important things in the background, but you’re not really with the people.”

After a difficult family loss in 2024, Jasselis found herself reflecting deeply on her purpose. She had long dreamed of becoming a midwife and working in women’s health. In early 2025, she began pursuing that calling in a new way: becoming a birth doula.

She completed her doula training in March 2025 and attended her first birth on April 18. Just over a year later, she has supported more than 100 births, helping families navigate pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum with compassion, advocacy, and evidence-based support. As a bilingual doula, Jasselis is especially passionate about ensuring Spanish-speaking families feel informed, respected, and empowered throughout their care.

Today, Jasselis supports women and families through pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum recovery. Her work requires strength, empathy, advocacy, and presence. She helps mothers process their birth experiences, communicate their needs, and feel supported during one of the most vulnerable and powerful moments of their lives.

“You become a therapist, a go-to person for people during pregnancy, birth, postpartum,” she said. “It’s really rewarding. It’s really hard because you don’t always know what you’re going to be doing, but it’s the best decision I made.”

For Jasselis, the connection between her CSF-supported education and her work today is clear. Sacred Heart and Fontbonne gave her more than academics. They gave her community, stability, mentors, and the confidence to keep going during difficult times.

“Both Sacred Heart and Fontbonne didn’t just shape me in education,” she said. “They taught me a lot about diversity, life, everything that comes with it. It wasn’t just education-based.”

This year, Jasselis attended the CSF gala again, this time as an alumna. Sitting among other former CSF Scholars, she felt the full-circle impact of the organization’s mission.

“It felt really full circle to see that even 10 years later, the organization is still continuing to make such a great impact and a difference in so many people’s lives,” she said. “It’s really an honor.”

She also saw herself in the current student speaker.

“You think people don’t see you, but they do,” Jasselis reflected. “We’re people sitting at a table and sitting in a crowd of people that one day thought we wouldn’t make it here, and then you do.”

To current CSF Scholars, especially those entering a new school and facing uncertainty, Jasselis offers the wisdom of someone who has lived that journey.

“Believe in yourself and know your purpose,” she said. “We all have people rooting for us, even if it’s not our family. That’s kind of how I feel that the donors are. They’re the people rooting for us.”

For donors, Jasselis’s story is a reminder that a scholarship is never just tuition assistance. It is access to safety, stability, mentors, opportunity, and a community that helps a young person imagine a different future.

As a student, Jasselis once dreamed of becoming an OB/GYN. Today, she is still following that calling to serve women and families. Her path has evolved, but her purpose has remained constant: to show up for people when they need support most.

And that purpose was nurtured, in part, because CSF donors showed up for her.

“Some people aren’t fortunate to have that community,” Jasselis said. “So it’s definitely worth it.”

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