Jesuit High School Alum Gives $10 Million, Largest Gift in Tampa School's History

Jesuit High School in Tampa has received a $10 million gift, the largest single donation in the school's 127-year history, from a 1968 alumnus who arrived in the United States alone as a 12-year-old refugee from Cuba. The school announced the gift on Sept. 16 during a Convocation assembly in its Chapel of the Holy Cross, and it will go entirely toward financial aid for future Jesuit students.

The donor is Dr. Manuel "Manny" Mon, who fled Cuba in 1961 through Operation Peter Pan, the effort that helped children escape the island after Fidel Castro's rise to power. His parents stayed behind and did not join him in the United States for four more years. Mon was taken in by a Tampa foster family, the Grandoffs, and quickly learned English.

He arrived at Jesuit on a scholarship funded through the Angelina Massari Scholarship Fund. He graduated in 1968 as the school's valedictorian, then earned a full scholarship to St. Louis University before going on to get a medical degree and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Florida. He spent more than 40 years as a pediatrician in the Fort Myers area.

A gift, and a second standing ovation

Mon returned to campus this month at the invitation of Jesuit president Fr. Vincent Giacabazi, who introduced him to students at Convocation. Mon spoke to the student body about his life, drawing a standing ovation. Then Giacabazi stepped back to the lectern and told students the gift was coming: another $10 million for the school, the largest in its history.

That announcement drew a second standing ovation. Jesuit's Mothers' Club marked the moment by handing out donuts to students on their way to first period.

Mon told students that Jesuit prepares them not just to make a living, but to make a life that matters, and thanked them for carrying the school's tradition forward. Joining him at the assembly was his 1968 classmate Dr. Frank Massari Jr., whose aunt, Angelina Massari, funded the scholarship that first got Mon through Jesuit's doors nearly 60 years ago.

Part of a $100 million campaign

The gift lands in the middle of Jesuit's "Excelsior!" capital campaign, a $100 million fundraising push the school announced last month. Before Mon's donation, the campaign had already raised $69 million. Jesuit's development director, Nick Suszynski, called Mon's generosity an embodiment of the school's ideal of forming "men for others."

Jesuit High School has operated in Tampa since 1899 and is one of the region's oldest private schools. School leaders say gifts of this size expand who can afford to attend, the same kind of scholarship support that first brought Mon through its doors.

The school has not said how the new financial aid dollars will be distributed or how many additional students it expects the gift to help. Jesuit's Excelsior! campaign continues, with $31 million still to raise toward its $100 million goal.

Got thoughts on this story? Join the conversation in our Community Forum, and follow along with more local coverage on our Tampa Community Website, on Facebook and on Instagram. For more stories like this one, visit our education section.