AFTERCLASS
CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER MIKE FAZIO
It’s Time to Pay it Forward It didn’t take long for Mike Fazio to get on board with the Benedict’s way of doing things. Now in his eighth year as Chief Advancement Officer, he discusses the role of fundraiser-in-chief and the progress achieved on his watch. What did you know about St. Benedict’s Prep before becoming Chief Advancement Officer in 2014? I knew St. Benedict’s was a strong Catholic school with a storied tradition. But frankly, there are a lot of schools out there with rigorous academic programs and special histories. I made a lot of assumptions. Little did I know I was walking into something completely different. At first, St. Benedict’s took a little bit of getting used to. Now, I can’t imagine a school run any other way.
Why is that? We put the onus on the kids to figure things out. The students run the show and we work for them. My email box was filled this morning with messages from kids changing the schedule and notifying parents of different developments. That is a brilliant piece of the puzzle here. Can you imagine a public school trying this? I can’t even imagine most Catholic schools putting kids in charge this way. Even on the most ordinary of days, incredible things happen in the middle of Newark. We had Mass on the field outdoors recently, and there was work being done on the Verizon building adjacent to the Property. The Verizon guys stopped working and listened to the Mass, the music, and to Fr. Edwin. That doesn’t happen everywhere, but that kind of connectedness happens here all the time.
How do you view your role in terms of fostering the interconnectedness of the St. Benedict’s Prep community? I feel my primary job as Chief Advancement Officer is to make sure that those Benedict’s traditions and formative experiences continue
Nearing the Finish Line 6
St. Benedict’s Prep Magazine • Fall 2021
