This section provides photos and videos of events and activities about The Thomas and Elsie Deeley Foundation and our scholarship recipients.
MARCUS CONCEPCION IS INTERVIEWED BY WTNH CHANNEL 8 IN NEW HAVEN
Marcus was interviewed by WTNH after receiving a Deeley Foundation scholarship to attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Although we had no prior knowledge of his interview, we think he did a great job representing who we are and what we do!
SACRED HEART HIGH SCHOOL AWARDS DINNER
Videos
We encourage you to watch some of the videos from the Sacred Heart High School Awards Dinner, where Ted Deeley was presented with the Rev. John F. Fitzgerald Lifetime Achievement Award. You can see profiles of some of our recipients and watch them describe their individual stories and perceptions about the scholarship. You can also view a speech by Ted Deeley that provides a firsthand description of The Thomas and Elsie Deeley Foundation and its selection criteria.
The scholarship recipient videos represent a broad range of students and accomplishments. Valerie Moore (1996), a Fairfield University graduate and the very first recipient of The Thomas and Elsie Deeley Foundation Scholarship; Matt Alspaugh (2003), a Southern Connecticut State University graduate; and Steven Naylor (2008), a Massachusetts Maritime Academy graduate are featured in the videos.
SHHS Awards Dinner – Valerie Moore 1996 Scholarship Recipient – Attended Fairfield University
SHHS Awards Dinner – Steven Naylor 2008 Scholarship Recipient – Attended Massachusetts Maritime Academy
SHHS Awards Dinner – Matt Alspaugh 2003 Scholarship Recipient – Attended Southern Connecticut State University
SHHS Awards Dinner – Ted Deeley – Executive Director of The Thomas and Elsie Deeley Foundation
Photos
The following are selected photos from the Sacred Heart High School Awards Dinner. Nine previous scholarship recipients were in attendance, along with four members of The Thomas and Elsie Deeley Foundation Board of Directors.
PETER GONZALEZ (2005) VISITS WITH TED DEELEY AFTER HIS DISCHARGE FROM THE AIR FORCE
We are very proud of what Peter has accomplished. He originally attended Southern Connecticut State University, but decided he wanted to serve his country before completing his degree. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force where he received multiple promotions and became one of its youngest sergeants. While in the Air Force, he obtained an Associate’s Degree in Avionics Systems. After his discharge from the service, he enrolled in an engineering program at the University of Central Florida where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2019. He plans to continue working towards his Master’s Degree.
STEVEN NAYLOR (2008) IS COMMISSIONED AS AN ENSIGN IN THE U.S. COAST GUARD
We are very proud of Steven for achieving his life-long ambition to become a career officer in the United States Coast Guard after graduating from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
Steven is participated in a unique exchange program with the United States Navy and was the only U.S. Coast Guard officer serving aboard a Navy destroyer!
JENNA LOGIUDICE (2002) RECEIVES HER PH.D. FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
We are very proud of what Jenna has accomplished. She is truly a superstar and our first scholarship recipient to receive her doctorate, but not the last!
She was instrumental in developing the Midwifery Program in the School of Nursing at Fairfield University where she is a member of the faculty and was honored as an outstanding professor.
We wish her all the best in the School of Nursing and with her other health care activities.
MATT ALSPAUGH (2003) GIVES THE DEELEYS A TOUR OF NEW YORK CITY
When Matt heard we were planning on taking two of our grandsons to visit New York City, he arranged to give us a guided tour for a couple of days! As you can see we certainly saw many of the highlights that the “Big Apple” has to offer.
MELANIE DEZIEL (2008) DINES WITH THE DEELEYS AT THE “SOCIAL FRESH 2016 CONFERENCE” IN ORLANDO FLORIDA
The Deeley Foundation is extremely proud of what Melanie has accomplished since graduating from UConn and obtaining her Master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University. Melanie is an internationally recognized speaker on digital branded content; writes for Inc.com; is an expert in residence at the venture capital firm BRaVe Ventures and is the founder of the native ad industry newsletter, The Overlap League. Melanie, a young high energy entrepreneur, recently started her own firm, MDeziel Media.
Prior to founding her own company, Melanie worked for the Huffington Post, the New York Times, and Time, Inc. While at the New York Times, she received two national awards for her productions of “Women Inmates” and “Grit and Grace”. The former was in support of the Netflix special, “Orange Is The New Black”, and the latter in support of Cole Haan. You can learn more about this impressive young woman by visiting her website at storyfuel.co.
AARON RADDEN (2009) AND LEGAIRRE RADDEN (2009) AND THEIR FAMILY VISIT WITH THE DEELEYS
These two outstanding young men paid a visit to the Deeleys. Both obtained their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Central Connecticut State University.
Aaron, who was a 2nd Team All American in track and an Academic All American, has visited Kenya with his track coach and adopted several schools in the country by providing tuition, school uniforms, school supplies and food to children who otherwise would not have access to these essentials. He also works with abused children and families and is doing research on the predictive causes of dysfunction in families.
As an undergraduate, Legairre was Senior Class President and the recipient of the President’s Citation and the Dean’s Citation. He received a research assistantship from Wesleyan University and is currently employed as a Research Scientist by Boehringer Ingelheim, a European based pharma company. He is doing research on immunology, has published several peer reviewed research papers on various scientific research topics, and also has his name on a patent. He continues to work towards his Ph. D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry.
We couldn’t be more proud of what these two very impressive young men are achieving and know that they will continue to “make a difference” in the future.
DANIEL CAMACHO (2008) WORKS WITH UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT DENTAL STUDENTS AT A FREE DENTAL CLINIC IN GRENADA.
We are very proud of what Dan has accomplished. As an undergraduate Pre-dental major, he established a free dental clinic for a community that could not afford dental services. Later, while he was in the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, where he received a full tuition scholarship, he spent time with some of his fellow students and staff providing free dental services in Grenada. He recently graduated with his DMD and has entered an advanced Orthodontics Program in Pittsburgh.
JULIAN SAAVEDRA (2000) AND HIS FAMILY VISIT WITH TED DEELEY AT DISNEY SPRINGS.
Julian is truly “making a difference” in the area of education, and we are extremely proud of his accomplishments. He spent a year teaching in China and formerly taught 8th grade social studies at a KIPP Charter School in the Philadelphia area. KIPP is a nationally acclaimed network of 162 free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools dedicated to preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and life. He was recently recognized as a top black educator in the city of Philadelphia. He is currently a Founding Director of Social Studies at Belmont Charter School in West Philadelphia. Julian recently appeared on the ABC TV game show, “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” and won $30,000!
Julian Saavedra, Elizabeth Lennox, their two children, Ted Deeley and the Lennox Family at the T-Rex Café.
MEAGHAN SPAGNOLO (2015) AND ERIN BROWN (2017) COMPETE AGAINST EACH OTHER!
What is the probability of two of our Deeley Foundation scholarship recipients from two different universities competing against each other? More specifically, what is the probability of them competing in the same event and in the same race?
Well it happened on October 20, 2018 when two of our scholarship recipients participated in a women’s swimming and diving meet. Meaghan Spagnolo (Southern Connecticut State University) and Erin Brown (Central Connecticut State University) raced against each other in the 100 meter butterfly at a Tri-Meet held at the University of Connecticut.
Both ladies competed in several events, but this was the only “head-to-head” race between the two! We are very proud of both these young women who are obviously “making a difference” for their respective teams.
PETER GONZALEZ (2005) GRADUATES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA (UCF)
Gayle and I had the privilege and honor to attend Peter’s graduation ceremony in December 2019. We have been both amazed and humbled by what Peter and his wife, Aubrey have accomplished. Peter received his Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, and in March 2020 Aubrey received her Master’s in Nursing and they are doing all this while raising two small children!
You might wonder how someone who was awarded a Deeley Foundation scholarship in 2005 waited until 2019 to obtain a degree. It is a long story, but Peter left Southern Connecticut State University after one semester and joined the Air Force. We remained in contact with him and told Peter that we continued to believe in him, that he would be someone who would “make a difference” and that we would hold the balance of his scholarship for him should he decide to continue his education. That is exactly what happened!
The medal he is wearing in the photos is an award he received because his team came in first among hundreds of other teams in an engineering design competition. That’s quite an achievement at a university with over 66,000 students!