As a high school senior with a near flawless GPA and an extensive extracurricular résumé, Mary Ann Cortese could have gone to The Catholic University of America, Loyola Chicago, or any number of the universities she was accepted into. However, there was only one university to which she felt called.

“Franciscan is the place God called me to,” says the junior international business major from Elk Grove Village, Illinois. “I didn’t exactly know why he called me here, but I knew it would be beneficial for my future.”

Part of that reason is no doubt the community, which, she says, is unique even among Catholic universities. “Franciscan is different because the community aspect is focused on God,” says Cortese, who is active in the campus chapter of Young Americans for Freedom and is a student government senator. “Yes, there’s an academic part of it, and yes, there’s a social part of it, but at the end of the day, we’re all coming together because God chose this place for us.”

Passionate about applying and advocating for Catholic teaching and values in the public square, she is intent on attending law school after graduating from Franciscan—a goal she knows is possible only because of the donors who contributed to her scholarship package as an undergraduate student.

“As someone who wants to pursue a graduate degree after Franciscan, the generous scholarships provide me an opportunity to take advantage of all Franciscan has to offer without significant stress or the financial burden of thousands upon thousands of dollars in loans.

“And that opportunity,” she says, “has been an amazing gift.”