Alumni Couple Leads the Way for Future Students With Endowed Scholarship
Don and Rose Broderick
After 47 years of marriage, Don Broderick '72, G'74 has come up with the perfect metaphor for his relationship with the love of his life, Rose Broderick '76, G'80, G'89.
"Rose is the horse, and I'm the jockey," he says as they both laugh. "Patience is not her strongest virtue. When she commits to something, she is in 100%, and at a fast pace, and I'm like, 'Whoa! Hold on a minute.' You can't have one without the other. If you don't have the horse, you're not going anywhere, and if you don't have the jockey, you'll burn out before you get a quarter of a mile."
"I think we complement each other," Rose says with a smile, "although you're far more patient, I do admit."
"That is true," he says. "I admit that, also."
If you're ever lucky enough to break bread with the Brodericks, you'll see that it's an apt description. The South Abington Township residents, who first met at The University of Scranton, share the type of easygoing, finish-each-other's-sentences vibe that current students might describe as "#couplegoals" on social media. Together, they are the proud parents of Stephen, who lives in Maryland with his fiancée, Anne; and Sara, who lives in London, England, with her husband, Jamie. And, like a horse and a jockey united in pursuit of a common goal, they have spent their lives serving the greater good of their community. Rose, the president and CEO of Summit Peak Associates, a professional consulting practice serving nonprofit and for-profit organizations in planning and development initiatives, spent decades as a health care executive at several institutions before founding the company in 2015. Don recently retired after serving more than 40 years as executive director of The Arc of NEPA, which promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
"It's very rewarding to be able to go out and make a difference in the lives of other people," says Rose, who has served on 30 nonprofit boards, including the Scranton Area Foundation, United Neighborhood Centers and the Lackawanna County Regional Planning Commission. "That's basically my purpose in life, to give back."
"We're often in sync with each other," adds Don, who, in addition to serving with Rose as a member of the Kiwanis Club of Scranton, has also served on several nonprofit boards, including WVIA TV/FM, The Arc of PA in Harrisburg, the Abington Community Library and the Pastoral Council of the Church of St. Gregory. "It makes you feel good when you do for others."
While both Don and Rose credit Scranton with strengthening the strong moral foundation their parents and family members created during their formative years, Rose, in particular, feels indebted to the University and the Jesuit order for transforming her life. Growing up in a large family, she had been told that her family would not be able to afford to send her to college; after high school, however, she began working full time for the University, which allowed her to attend classes for free.
"The Jesuits at the University put me through college," she says. "They really, literally, changed my life because it opened up so many new opportunities for me."
Seeking to provide others with those same opportunities, the Brodericks recently chose to establish an endowed scholarship at the University that will benefit future students struggling to find the resources to complete their degrees. By ensuring that future generations of Scranton students will continue to work for a better world, "the horse and the jockey" will lead the way to a brighter future.
"It's a nice way to pay it forward and do for someone what the Jesuits did for me," Rose says.
Like the Brodericks, you, too, can ensure that future generations of Scranton students can pursue a quality education. Contact Carol Maculloch, MBA, CFRE at plannedgiving@scranton.edu or 570-941-7799 to learn how you can include a gift to Scranton in your will or other estate plan.