Since its founding in the mid-1990s, The Thomas W. Zito, Sr., Scholarship at Saint Peter’s Preparatory School (Jersey City) has enabled dozens of talented young men to benefit from the school’s highly regarded Jesuit education. Named for the father of Prep alumnus and former trustee Robert Zito, ’71, this permanently endowed fund has grown steadily, and it currently stands at $1.53 million.

The Zito Scholarship is part of the school’s broader endowment–a collection of restricted funds, a majority of which are devoted to providing merit- and need-based financial awards to qualified students. In the 2019-20 academic year, these awards total some $4 million, with the Zito Scholarship itself providing financial assistance for eight boys annually (two from each academic year).

As with most of Prep’s restricted scholarship funds, the recipients are young men who have met the school’s rigorous admissions requirements, but whose financial circumstances would not enable them to enroll without “need-based” support from funds such as the Zito Scholarship. This scholarship, which Cento Amici is proud to support, is awarded to deserving students from Bayonne, NJ, where the scholarship’s namesake worked tirelessly in support of the community as executive director of the Bayonne Housing Authority.

The Cento Amici Scholarship at St. Benedict’s Prep is an annual financial award to needy but deserving students. The school has been a recipient since 2017. St. Benedict’s students are given tremendous responsibility and a significant opportunity to serve as leaders in all aspects of school life. Its graduates go on to become pillars of their communities, as teachers and coaches, business executives, political leaders, doctors, lawyers, etc. Most importantly, they become loving friends, spouses, and parents.

The Cento Amici Scholarship was established at Seton Hall Prep (SHP) in 2021 by Antonio Froio, a 2011 graduate of SHP and his father Rick Froio, both active members of Cento Amici.   Seton Hall Prep is a Catholic, college-preparatory school called to serve young men of diverse cultural and economic backgrounds.  Our mission aligns with Cento Amici’s commitment to provide educational opportunities for needy but deserving students.  Firmly rooted in our Catholic identity, our mission is to foster the spiritual, intellectual, social and physical growth of our students in order to prepare them to meet the challenges of college and adulthood in a manner that embodies the values that this community cherishes.  Among these values we highlight spiritual awareness, academic excellence, personal maturity. We share, along with Cento Amici, a strong commitment to social responsibility with a particular emphasis on service.  

Seton Hall Prep is blessed to receive the support of Cento Amici!

• Marybeth Ream, Associate Director of Development

Recipient of the Cento Amici Scholarship 2021

Frank Manzo ’21 is a warm and outgoing young man, who has always cared deeply for those around him, especially his family.  Frank has an interest in pursuing a career in business and participated in our Future Business Leaders of America and Stock Market clubs while he was a student at the Prep.  He is a thoughtful and engaged young man who is currently attending Seton Hall University.

• Christopher Barnitt ‘88, Director of School Counseling

Saint Dominic Academy (Jersey City) is honored and blessed to be added to the list of Cento Amici (100 Friends) supported educational institutions.  Saint Dominic Academy has been “Empowering Women for Leadership since 1878”. Outside of the strong academic programs, our urban location offers our ethnically and economically diverse school population a loving, nurturing environment where young women discover the courage, strength, and knowledge to become empowered women serving leadership roles in their communities and beyond.

Cento Amici’s mission to enhance the educational opportunities for qualified, deserving young students is inspiring. This year two students are experiencing an SDA education due to the generosity of the Cento Amici family. Without this support a quality education would be out of reach for some of our families. Our students go on to attend outstanding universities and after college, our graduates flourish in successful careers and give back to their communities. Thank you for your generosity, commitment and the bright futures that you have made possible. God Bless!

The Cento Amici Scholarship at Roselle Catholic High School is an annual financial award to needy but deserving students. Our school is proud to be a partner with Cento Amici as we work together to provide a great educational experience for the children in our community who need it most. Many of the Roselle Catholic’s students who receive scholarships from Cento Amici would struggle to attend our school financially with this support. These students and their families are forever grateful for the support they receive and the opportunities it presents to them both at RC and for their future. Since our partnership began, each student who has received a scholarship from Cento Amici has gone on to attend one of the colleges of their choice. Our children, their families and our school are grateful for the continued support of Cento Amici.

The Cento Amici Scholarship Fund at Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child was established in 2017 to support a partial scholarship for a deserving Upper School student. Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child, located in Summit, New Jersey, is coeducational from PK to grade 6 and girls only in grades 7-12. Oak Knoll was founded in 1924 and is one of nine schools in the Holy Child Network of Schools that provides independent Catholic education across the United States and 13 overseas. Oak Knoll is Judeo-Christian in heritage, Roman Catholic in teaching and worship, where we believe that each person is created by God for an intended purpose. An Oak Knoll education guides students to discover that purpose and make a significant, positive impact on the world.

From Immaculate Conception High School.

Cento Amici and Immaculate Conception High School:  one hundred friends to celebrate one hundred years!  As Immaculate Conception High School prepares for its centennial celebration in 2025, it is a particular joy to pair deserving high school students who could use a helping hand with our Cento Amici partners.  What better way to honor Cento Amici’s dedication to helping God’s children, especially those who have economic challenges, blossom into responsible Christians so that they can make a positive difference in the world of today, tomorrow, and even the next hundred years? Partnerships, such as the one between Cento Amici and Immaculate that began in 2017, form individuals who have the character and grit to withstand the levels of hardship we have witnessed in the past year.  Our Cento Amici partners know that people who have transcended hardship often develop into our strongest leaders, and Immaculate has graduated hundreds of them.  Cento Amici per cento anni!  Thank you, friends. God bless and Godspeed!

The Cento Amici Alfonse A. Cinotti, MD Scholarship at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School is in tribute to the work of Dr. Alfonse A. Cinotti, Ophthalmologist and Honorary Cento Amici member. A pioneer in New Jersey ophthalmology, Dr. Cinotti was Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) New Jersey Medical School for more than 30 years. The school is now known as the Institute of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

Cento Amici support began in 1993 with a scholarship fund being established in 2005. Most Cento Amici awards are granted to future physicians preparing for clinical specialization in ophthalmology and are selected by the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Awards Committee based on outstanding academic achievement and a strong record of community service. Since its founding, $104K has been awarded to a number of students. The Student Sight Savers Program, a local free community outreach program using innovative technology to identify vision threatening diseases in their earliest forms, is one of many ways scholarship recipients contribute their talent to under served communities and also have an opportunity to learn from experts in the medical field.

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, which is part of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS), supports its mission of providing the highest quality medical education, in addition to research, patient services and community outreach.

The Cento Amici Scholarship at Montclair State University, College of the Arts (CART), was established to recognize full time undergraduate students majoring in a field of study within the College of the Arts. Since its founding in 1999, almost a hundred scholarships have been awarded to students in good academic standing who were nominated by their departments.

CART offers more than 50 majors, minors and concentrations in art and design, television and digital media, communication studies, dance, music and theatre. Twice designated as a Center of Excellence, the college maintains a commitment to quality programs, providing professional training and education for students seeking careers as practitioners, educators, public servants and managers of the arts.

Recognized by the US Department of Education for its commitment to providing underserved populations access to affordable higher education, Montclair State university is committed to a learning community that is deeply and broadly reflective of the diverse population of New Jersey.

The Cento Amici Scholarship at Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) was established in 2016 and provides support to underserved, economically-challenged students, to keep them on trajectory and ever-closer to achieving their full potential.

The generosity of organizations like Cento Amici has helped fuel the impact RVCC has made in its home communities since 1968. RVCC has been ranked as the best community college in New Jersey by both Niche.com and WalletHub.com. According to the Center for Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University, RVCC has the BEST ROI among all of New Jersey’s community colleges for students whose families earn $30,000 or less per year (more than one-third of all college students). The College is also in top 5% of all community colleges nationally, and top 16% of ALL higher ed institutions.  

Students are at the heart of everything we do, and we’re committed to developing thoughtful, ethical, global citizens. It’s no surprise that each year RVCC students donate the equivalent of $1 million in cumulative community service hours to some 250 community partners, as part of the College’s nationally recognized Service Learning Program.

The RVCC community is grateful to the members of Cento Amici, its leadership and supporters, for the difference they are making in the lives of New Jersey students.

The Cento Amici Scholarship at Union County College (UCC) was established in memory of John Neiswanger, an early member of Cento Amici, a Union County College board member and a dedicated business professional who was always mentoring young people. Established as an endowed scholarship with the Union County College Foundation in 2002, nearly 50 students have been awarded $174K in scholarships based on academic achievement and financial need.

One of the most racially and ethnically diverse county colleges in New Jersey with major campuses in Cranford, Elizabeth, Plainfield and Scotch Plains, UCC is known for excellence among regional colleges and universities with associate degrees and certificate programs in the arts, sciences and applied sciences as well as a large educator of undergraduate healthcare professionals in New Jersey with student cooperative programs partnering with several major New Jersey hospitals.

Accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, UCC is also recognized for its national honors programs helping students develop solid pathways to a bachelor’s degree including top universities and colleges, teaching English as a second language, and a distinguished American Sign Language program.