$1 million commitment to scholarship will support Marquette students across three colleges
Future students in Marquette’s College of Nursing, College of Health Sciences and Klingler College of Arts and Sciences will be able to access new scholarship aid thanks to a $1 million estate pledge from Iowa prosecutor George Karnas and his wife, Nina.
Marquette basketball, a longtime friendship with Assoc. Head Coach Stan Johnson, and the guidance of Jesuit leaders during George’s student days inspired the Karnases to create the Karnas Giroux Endowed Scholarship Fund in tribute to their parents and their own life’s journeys.
The scholarship focuses on colleges that develop caregivers, in honor of those who aided George after an accident left him temporarily paralyzed.
“I’m alive and well today thanks to nurses and neuroscience experts,” he said.
“We hope our scholarship support knocks over the financial hurdle that can stand in the way of a young person who has great potential.” — George and Nina Karnas
When George and Nina attended Marquette’s annual scholarship celebration in 2019, they saw that potential come alive in Arts and Sciences student Jazzmine, who grew up in one of Milwaukee’s toughest zip codes — an area George knows well as a former Milwaukee resident. Thanks to scholarships, Jazzmine now hopes to attend Law School after her undergraduate studies.
“I feel incredibly lucky to be on the path to live out my dream thanks to scholarships,” she said. “It’s what motivates me to do well in life and pushes me to work hard to prove the investment made in me is worth it.”
For George, it’s an investment that has breathed new life into him.
“Supporting this university is about as certain a way as you can get that your gift will go to deserving young people.” — George Karnas
“Endowed scholarship is our greatest university-wide funding priority, and the Karnases are a wonderful example of how donors change students’ lives,” said Tim McMahon, vice president for University Advancement. “We are grateful to George and Nina for enabling future students to be transformed by a Marquette education.”
The day the Karnases made their gift to Marquette, George laughingly recalled striking up a conversation with a gentleman in the first row of the Marquette-Villanova men’s basketball game. “He turned to me and said, ‘I want to thank you and your wife for your generous gift.’ I replied, ‘How did you know?’ Turns out it was President Mike Lovell,” George said.
Interactions like this underscore the Karnases’ faith in Marquette.
