Young Family Found Life-Changing Support From M.O.S.T.

“I have to reel myself in and not brag too much because I don't want to make anyone think I'm talking about how much smarter my kids are,” said Scott Young, father to four M.O.S.T. Scholar Alumni.

“My intent is to let people considering supporting M.O.S.T. through donations know how beneficial the program was for my family. For anybody who's 901-proud, like we say here, and for those who want to invest locally, the return could be tremendous. M.O.S.T. helps parents who need it, and it's a truly invaluable program.”

Scott’s children Anthony (Christian Brothers High School, 2017), Rebecca (Immaculate Conception Cathedral School, 2019), Christina (ICCS, 2020), and Steven (CBHS, 2022) followed his wife Teresa’s family tradition, charting their academic journey through Catholic Schools, with each attending De La Salle through middle school before splitting by gender in high school. A product of public school himself, Scott feels the opportunities offered to his kids through their M.O.S.T. Scholarships primed them to excel in college and beyond.

“When I think about what M.O.S.T. gave them, the number one thing is college preparation,” said Scott. “Christina graduated from Holy Cross College in three and a half years. Anthony and Rebecca went straight through Christian Brothers University in four years, and right into master’s programs where they had no problem with the curriculum. CBU and Holy Cross, they're not junior colleges or fly by night schools, and they didn’t spend one second playing catch up. They walked in prepared and ready to go. The ethics and the habits that they formed in private school put them in a winning situation for college.”

The Youngs knew early that they wanted their children in Lasallian schools, but they also wanted a large family. For a while, they made it work, but as Anthony approached 2^nd Grade and Rebecca prepared to enroll in Kindergarten, they needed support. After searching for options, Teresa learned about M.O.S.T. and applied.

“The expense was growing, and it felt tremendous in some regards,” said Scott. “But because of M.O.S.T., we were able to take all our children through the Catholic school system. As we added a child, we would get a little bit more funding and it allowed us to live where we wanted to live. We chose to live in Olive Branch and commute into Memphis, and we were able to keep the kids in the same school until high school.”

“From a financial standpoint, there was no way we would have been able to make it all work without M.O.S.T.,” he said.

Scott says that because of their scholarships, most of his children will pursue successful careers in Memphis, which he sees as a reinvestment of the support M.O.S.T. donors gave his family.

“Anthony is a staff accountant for One GI, which is the accounting firm for Gastro One. Rebecca plans to build her career here after graduate school. Steven is working and weighing his options but I predict he’ll enroll in college and ultimately stay here,” said Scott.

“Christina recently became engaged and accepted a position at a Catholic School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I don’t want my baby moving away, but at the same time, she knows she has to make her own way in the world.”

“Ultimately, I'm just very proud that we were able to connect our family to M.O.S.T. We've all benefited so much from it.”