University of New Hampshire Athletics
The Kevin M. Fitzgerald and Marie F. Gross Endowment for Academic Excellence
12/22/2015 1:08:00 PM | Athletics Development
Kevin Fitzgerald '79 and Marie Gross '79 might have come to UNH with dramatically different perspectives, but today their feelings about their alma mater are one and the same: they couldn't imagine a better college experience.
Fitzgerald, who grew up in Manchester, N.H., and played football at Central High School, had his sights set on a Division III school, where he figured he could have an impact on the gridiron as well as in the classroom. An identical triplet from Norwood, Mass., Gross always had UNH at the top of her list—as did her sisters, Maggie and Marianne. Though he had made plans to transfer, when Fitzgerald met Gross in the spring of his sophomore year, any thoughts of leaving Durham went straight into the circular file.
"I stayed and did not regret it one bit," he says. "We went on to have a wonderful time and it all worked out great."
So great, in fact that the couple, who married in 1982, last year established an endowed scholarship fund to honor their love of UNH. The Kevin M. Fitzgerald and Marie F. Gross Endowment for Academic Excellence supports students who have demonstrated exceptional academic success in the College of Health and Human Services while also participating as members of an intercollegiate athletic team. For Fitzgerald, a psychology major who today is a managing partner at the law firm of Nixon Peabody LLP, and Gross, who parlayed her degree in health management and policy into a VP of business development position at Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital, the fund is a reflection of their shared interests.
Last year, track and field standout and nursing major Elise Beattie '14 became the first recipient of the scholarship. Volleyball player Abby Brinkman '16, who is majoring in speech pathology, is this year's scholar. Gross says getting a chance to learn about and meet the student-athletes has only added to the positive experience of creating the fund.
"I love that," she says. "It makes it all the more special. It's important to know your money is working as you had hoped and it warms your heart to contribute to something that is such a worthy cause."
Fitzgerald adds that anyone considering supporting the school financially or giving back by other means won't regret getting involved.
"Folks who are considering becoming more involved with the university through the establishment of a scholarship fund or other support, all they really need to do is meet some of the extraordinary people who are the beneficiaries of these funds," he says. "They'd come away saying, 'We need to find a way to do more.' I can say with some degree of assuredness that there won't be any buyers' regret when you do what Marie and I and others have done."
A past president of the UNH Alumni Association and former member of the University System of New Hampshire Board of Trustees, Gross says she takes every opportunity to promote UNH among family and friends and young people she comes in contact with. She regularly meets people who are interested in supporting the school financially or by other means.
Today, Fitzgerald and Gross still count their UNH relationships as among their most important—and find themselves at the heart of a literal UNH family. Gross' sister Marianne is married to Peter Gaspary '79, who played football with head football coach Sean McDonnell '79 and Fitzgerald's siblings Daniel '75 and Ann Fitzgerald Foley '89 are proud Wildcats, as well.
Fitzgerald, who grew up in Manchester, N.H., and played football at Central High School, had his sights set on a Division III school, where he figured he could have an impact on the gridiron as well as in the classroom. An identical triplet from Norwood, Mass., Gross always had UNH at the top of her list—as did her sisters, Maggie and Marianne. Though he had made plans to transfer, when Fitzgerald met Gross in the spring of his sophomore year, any thoughts of leaving Durham went straight into the circular file.
"I stayed and did not regret it one bit," he says. "We went on to have a wonderful time and it all worked out great."
So great, in fact that the couple, who married in 1982, last year established an endowed scholarship fund to honor their love of UNH. The Kevin M. Fitzgerald and Marie F. Gross Endowment for Academic Excellence supports students who have demonstrated exceptional academic success in the College of Health and Human Services while also participating as members of an intercollegiate athletic team. For Fitzgerald, a psychology major who today is a managing partner at the law firm of Nixon Peabody LLP, and Gross, who parlayed her degree in health management and policy into a VP of business development position at Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital, the fund is a reflection of their shared interests.
Last year, track and field standout and nursing major Elise Beattie '14 became the first recipient of the scholarship. Volleyball player Abby Brinkman '16, who is majoring in speech pathology, is this year's scholar. Gross says getting a chance to learn about and meet the student-athletes has only added to the positive experience of creating the fund.
"I love that," she says. "It makes it all the more special. It's important to know your money is working as you had hoped and it warms your heart to contribute to something that is such a worthy cause."
Fitzgerald adds that anyone considering supporting the school financially or giving back by other means won't regret getting involved.
"Folks who are considering becoming more involved with the university through the establishment of a scholarship fund or other support, all they really need to do is meet some of the extraordinary people who are the beneficiaries of these funds," he says. "They'd come away saying, 'We need to find a way to do more.' I can say with some degree of assuredness that there won't be any buyers' regret when you do what Marie and I and others have done."
A past president of the UNH Alumni Association and former member of the University System of New Hampshire Board of Trustees, Gross says she takes every opportunity to promote UNH among family and friends and young people she comes in contact with. She regularly meets people who are interested in supporting the school financially or by other means.
Today, Fitzgerald and Gross still count their UNH relationships as among their most important—and find themselves at the heart of a literal UNH family. Gross' sister Marianne is married to Peter Gaspary '79, who played football with head football coach Sean McDonnell '79 and Fitzgerald's siblings Daniel '75 and Ann Fitzgerald Foley '89 are proud Wildcats, as well.
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