DETROIT — Paul Venegas still treasures the “very good” education he received from the IHM nuns at Most Holy Trinity School in Corktown.

“When I was in the seventh grade, one of the nuns alerted me about U-D Jesuit High,” Venegas said. “The four years I spent there (Class of 1968) prepared me to get into Michigan State.

“How can I pay them back for all that I gained?”

Venegas, 69, owns the Goodman Venegas Insurance Agency in Troy.

All the while he was developing his business, and he and his wife Susan were raising their family, in the recesses of his mind and heart, he couldn’t forget “how very lucky I was to have Holy Trinity and U-D in my life. I know there are qualified kids at Holy Trinity who should have the same great experience I had at U-D.”

His decision: “Nobody can get anywhere without help. Now is my time to help them.”

Over the last two years, Venegas contributed $50,000 to establish the Paul and Susan Venegas Endowment Fund at University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy.

Last Saturday (May 11), he awarded the fund’s first scholarship in the amount of $2,000 to sixth-grader Chase Wiley to help cover his entry to U-D Jesuit Academy in the fall.

“Chase is very deserving,” Venegas said. “He’s quiet, I think because of the occasion and the people there. But he told me he was excited. Someone heard him say he wants to be an architect.”

“This is just the beginning,” Venegas announced. The “next step” is to set up a fund for girls from Holy Trinity desiring a Catholic high school education.

Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].