A Gift That Bears Fruit

Sept. 1, 2025

Scholarship recipients reflect on cultivating faith and pursuing higher education with K of C support

By Cecilia Engbert

Sept. 1, 2025

(Photo by Konstantin Postumitenko / Prostock-studio - stock.adobe.com)

After working as a professional architect for 12 years, Alejandra Gutzeit felt called to deepen her personal faith formation through higher education. That call led her to pursue theological studies at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C.

“In the span of about five months, I visited, applied, was accepted, and arranged to move clear across the country — from California to D.C. — to immerse myself in the Institute,” Gutzeit said. “The Lord very clearly opened the path and organized every single detail, and I gave my ‘yes’ despite some fears and some unknowns.”

Relief for one of those details came from the Institute’s Father Michael J. McGivney Scholarship Program. Funded by the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council, it provided $18,000 over two years of study, during which time Gutzeit also completed two student assistantships.

Since its earliest days, the Knights of Columbus has supported higher education, including priestly and religious formation — both organizationally and locally. For the 2025-2026 academic year, the Supreme Council awarded more than $1 million in scholarships to over 500 students. Most recipients are Knights themselves or the children of Knights, attending Catholic institutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico or the Philippines.

Empowered by the Knights’ support, many recipients remain active in the Church during college and beyond.

“What I have drawn from the Institute and its community continues to breathe life into all of my activities and relationships,” Gutzeit said. “I am eternally grateful, especially since the generous contribution of the Knights helped make it possible.”

‘THE LORD TOOK CARE OF THE DETAILS’

Alejandra Gutzeit, a California native, received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Notre Dame in 2010 and worked as an architect for over a decade before attending the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C. She graduated in 2024 with a master’s degree in theological studies in marriage and family. Her two years of studies were supported by the Father Michael J. McGivney Scholarship as well as the Terrence T. Lescoe Scholarship. She now works at a firm in the District of Columbia, designing both residential and sacred architecture.

Alejandra Gutzeit (Photo by Matthew Barrick) — Alejandra Gutzeit. (Photo by Matthew Barrick)

When I came to the Institute, I had already been a working professional for 12 years. The financial considerations of putting my professional life on a bit of a pause weighed on my mind. God, in his loving providence, provided for a combination of ways to pay for the program, one being the Father Michael J. McGivney Scholarship Program, which I found out about after applying to the school. It is one of the many ways in which the Lord truly took care of the details and paved a clear path for me to attend the Institute, which truly enriched and changed my life.

My father was a member of the Knights, and my impression of the Knights was always one of awe and gratitude for their sense of generosity. They truly make sincere gifts of themselves in countless communities, without reserve.

At the Institute, I realized that life is more about being than it is about doing. I certainly continue to do architecture, but with a renewed, deepened understanding of my being as grounded in truth, beauty and goodness. Providentially, the firm for which I now work does both residential work as well as sacred and institutional projects — specifically Catholic churches, schools and colleges. This is to say, I get to quite literally help “build the kingdom of God,” both at the level of the home and family — the basic cell of society and the domestic church — as well as the level of the larger faith community and the universal Church.

INSPIRED TO GIVE BACK

Luka Spinoti, a member of Holy Redeemer Council 11729 in Pickering, Ontario, is a four-year recipient of the Pro Deo & Pro Patria Scholarship. A sophomore at the University of Waterloo, he is studying computer science and hopes to pursue research or engineering roles in the field of artificial intelligence after graduation.

Luka Spinoti (Photo by Nadia Molinari) — Luka Spinoti. (Photo by Nadia Molinari)

My father, being a Knight, encouraged me to apply for the scholarship. With my program having one of the highest tuitions of any undergraduate program in Canada, the scholarship has been incredibly helpful. It has been one of the reasons for my academic success in my first year at college, allowing me to focus on school rather than having to worry about my finances.

I decided to join the Knights of Columbus a few months after receiving the Canadian Undergraduate Scholarship, realizing that becoming a member is the minimum I could do to give back to the Order. Since then, I have volunteered at parish events and spoken to others about joining our brotherhood. I would like to give a huge thank you to the Knights for the scholarship, and I am excited to get to do more with my brother Knights in the future.

One really nice thing about the University of Waterloo has been its proximity to St. Michael Parish. The church’s student center has been a wonderful place to meet other people practicing the faith. Additionally, through chance, my assigned roommates last year were also Catholic, so it was nice to be able to discuss the faith with them. To my Catholic peers and brother Knights, I would say that maintaining your connection with the faith by attending Mass or praying the rosary will not only strengthen your relationship with God, but will also help you develop positive character traits, including perseverance and integrity.

FOLLOWING GOD’S CLUES

Father Justin Farr is a priest of the Diocese of Nashville and a past recipient of the Supreme Council’s Father Michael J. McGivney Vocations Scholarship. He first felt the call to discern the priesthood while converting to Catholicism as a college student. Ordained Aug. 9, 2025, he now serves as associate pastor of Our Lady of the Lake Church in Hendersonville, Tennessee. He is a member of St. Ann Council 11925 in Nashville.

Father Justin Farr (Photo by William DeShazer) — Father Justin Farr. (Photo by William DeShazer)

The scholarships I received facilitated my path to becoming a priest and helped pay for a share of the cost of my education, taking part of that burden off the people of God here in Nashville. To those considering applying for a scholarship, I would say don’t count yourself out — go ahead and apply. The Knights of Columbus really is a very generous organization, not only with money but also in other aspects, and the Order is there to help the Church. They’re providing these scholarships so that young people can have the opportunity to study and be formed intellectually. A little bit goes a long way.

Over the years, I was frequently invited to join the Knights, and in 2019, I was asked again while serving at a parish for the summer. I decided it was time, because it’s another avenue to connect with parishioners. I attend events when I can, and I helped St. Edward Council 9586 in Nashville launch its participation in Cor, being there for the monthly gatherings and assisting with the spiritual reflection each time.

What really led me to the priesthood was asking God what he wanted of me and following the clues he placed before me. There was a gentle pull of the heart that he gave me over the years, especially after college. Also, I looked at what is most important to me — God, his Church, and the salvation of souls — and discerned this is the best way I can help with that.

MORE TIME FOR SERVICE

Hans Guenther is studying global business at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C. A recipient of the Percy J. Johnson Scholarship, he is grand knight of Georgetown University Council 6375 and former chairman of the College Councils Advisory Board. After graduation in 2026, he plans to pursue a career in national security.

Hans Guenther (Photo by Matthew Barrick) — Hans Guenther. (Photo by Matthew Barrick)

I first looked into the K of C scholarships after hearing about them from the grand knight at my parish’s council in Great Falls, Virginia. Financially, the scholarship cuts down on some of the burden of going to college by helping me avoid extra loans. There are many people who, through K of C scholarships, are able to get a college education. These scholarships, which go to Catholics serious about their faith, allow students to worry about finances a little less and spend more time praying, evangelizing, and serving others on college campuses.

I became a Knight right after I turned 18. I’d heard of the Knights before but didn’t really know what they did until one of my best friends, whose dad is a Knight, invited me to join with him. Each week on campus, our council has a “Knights Mass” and volunteers at a food kitchen in Washington. Once a semester, we clean the headstones of Jesuits buried at the graveyard on campus, and every few weeks we host spiritual discussion events with the Jesuits at Georgetown. Attending the annual College Councils Conference in New Haven has been a treat. I have been able to meet Knights from all over the country, and we always return to campus with lots of enthusiasm and new ideas.

I have always been interested in foreign affairs and international politics, and Georgetown is one of the best schools to study that. I have been very pleased with the exposure to global politics that we get in Washington, and there have been many ways to stay involved in Catholic life on campus. The K of C programs on campus, such as Into the Breach, have prepared me well to step out into the world, to be informed on what our Catholic faith teaches, and to be ready to practice and live that out for myself and for those around me.

CECILIA ENGBERT is a content producer for the Knights of Columbus Communications Department.

*****

Supreme Council Awards Scholarships

For the 2025-2026 academic year, the Knights of Columbus awarded over $1 million to more than 500 students. This total includes more than $205,000 given to more than 82 seminarians in the United States and Canada.

The John W. McDevitt (Fourth Degree) Scholarship was awarded to 31 new recipients, and 91 scholarships were renewed for the current academic year.

A total of 70 U.S. students and 35 Canadian students received Fourth Degree Pro Deo and Pro Patria Scholarships of $1,500 each. These scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence to incoming freshmen at Catholic colleges or universities and may be renewed for up to four years.

Based on similar criteria, more than 80 new or returning students received Endowed Scholarships named for Percy J. Johnson (24), Frank L. Goularte (14), Anthony J. LaBella (17) and Dr. Arthur F. Battista (27).

The Order also maintains an endowment at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., which provides Knights of Columbus graduate fellowships. For the 2024-2025 academic year, seven fellowships were awarded or renewed, in addition to eight fellowships granted at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.

Two students were awarded the Sister Thea Bowman Foundation-K of C Scholarship, and three students are working toward their degrees through the Francis P. Matthews and John E. Swift Educational Trust. The latter, established in 1944, offers scholarships to eligible children of members who were killed or permanently disabled in military service during a conflict, or who died in the line of duty as first responders.

Additional scholarships were awarded to students in the Philippines, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

To learn more and to see the full list of this year’s recipients, visit kofc.org/scholarships. More information about applying for the 2026-2027 academic year will be available after Oct. 1.

Viktor Openko exercises with his new prosthetic leg at the Protez Foundation’s rehabilitation center in Oakdale, Minn.

A Gift That Bears Fruit

‘THE LORD TOOK CARE OF THE DETAILS’

INSPIRED TO GIVE BACK

FOLLOWING GOD’S CLUES

MORE TIME FOR SERVICE

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