“Absolutely Elated” comes short of describing my enthusiasm with the final results of the 2017 “Crisafi Challenge”. In just 10 days, the Crisafi Challenge exceeded $100,000 in donations, every single penny of which will be used for scholarships, and nothing else. For me personally, to witness the phenomenal success of this program has been a whirlwind experience. The “Crisafi Challenge” is unquestionably a program of “excellence” and “benevolence”. It has already, in only its third year, raised nearly $190,000.
The credit for the successes belong to the donors, most of whom have stepped-up and donated for every Challenge since 2015. It’s the pharmacy alumni and a host of personal friends who understand that when they give to the Crisafi Challenge, they are making it possible to attract and enroll the best and brightest students who have chosen the UF COP as their first choice of study for their Pharm. D. degree. To date, sixteen scholarships have been awarded to high caliber students, not only from all over the US, but also from beyond our borders. That is an achievement that requires great support from both the pharmacy alumni and friends; and it indeed, gets that support. It is also a feat, I assume, no other college of pharmacy in the country enjoys. In my eyes, this is what makes our prestigious COP outstanding.
With the $100,000+ donated in 2017, a group of new scholars will soon be selected to adorn the classrooms and hallways of the UF COP. The truth is that without the scholarships from the Crisafi Challenge, most of these great and deserving students will not have been able to afford their education at the University of Florida. This is especially true for those students who are non-residents of the state. The higher tuition cost for out-of-state applicants, when compared with their native state’s college tuition, becomes a deterrent for these applicants, most of whom have selected the UF COP as their first choice college because of its exceptional ranking. It is in these cases that having funds to award scholarships to financially burdened students allows our college the opportunity to successfully compete with other colleges and universities.
Let me take this opportunity to say THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! to every single donor who has ever contributed, in any amount, to the Crisafi Challenge.
October 16, 2017