Rob Reeves admits that, at first, he thought Saint Mary’s Catholic Educator Promise seemed too good to be true.
His daughter Addison, a senior at Gentry Academy in Vadnais Heights, Minn., had just toured another college in Winona, Minn., but hadn’t considered Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota despite urging from her high school counselors. She had been afraid, her dad said, that its tuition costs — as a private Catholic university — would be too high, and she dismissed the university entirely, even though she had fallen in love with the river town.
About one week later, Rob Reeves, who works as the assistant athletic director and head football coach at Hill Murray in Maplewood, Minn., learned of Saint Mary’s new initiative, which supports the families of those who dedicate their careers to Catholic education — people like him.
Through the donor-funded Catholic Educator Promise, Saint Mary’s will begin offering free tuition to the dependent children of faculty and staff members employed by K-12 Catholic schools across Minnesota in spring 2025. Eligible students receive a “last dollar” grant that covers the remaining tuition costs for four years of study after all other scholarships and grants.
“I expressed it to our president that this seemed almost too good to be true,” Rob Reeves said. “I had to make some phone calls and get more details, just making sure it really is what it is. I came home and was telling Addison about it, and by that evening, she had already called and set up an appointment to go visit the campus. She was extremely excited. So that made me feel really happy, because I could see the excitement in her face and eyes that this was something she truly wanted, and now we would be able to afford it.”
Now officially enrolled, Addison is counting down the months before she moves to Saint Mary’s Winona Campus, where she plans to study nursing and hopes to continue playing hockey. “I love the campus. It’s beautiful,” she said. “I love the nursing facilities and that the nursing class sizes are smaller, which is the same at Gentry, so I’m excited about that also.” After nannying for the past year, Addison has felt a calling to help people and she’s eager to find out which of the many areas of nursing is the best fit.
“I’m excited to meet new people, get myself out there, and start finding out where I see myself in the future, and I hope college can help guide me,” she said.
Knowing that, with the Catholic Educator Promise, she can focus on her education and not have to worry about loans, she said, means a lot. And she glances, knowingly and appreciatively, at her dad.
Rob Reeves had spent 23 years coaching college football at the University of Minnesota and Eastern Michigan University, and he and the family moved around as a result. Five years ago, he said he decided, “it was kind of time for me to quit chasing my dreams of coaching college football and let these guys grow up in Minnesota.” He connected with the athletic director at Hill Murray, and has enjoyed his career shift. “The community at Hill Murray No. 1 is amazing. It’s a great school, academically, socially, spiritually; it provides all the things that you’re looking for in a Catholic education. We’ve got a great administrative team from the president on down,” he said.
Especially after working at a Catholic high school, Rob Reeves said the fact that his daughter will be attending a Catholic university is important. “I grew up Catholic my entire life,” he said. “She’s been baptized and confirmed Catholic, so I think adding the faith component, to me, is a big deal. I think it’s going to be awesome for full development, not just educationally but spiritually. It’ll be nice to walk to Mass right there on campus.”
For Rob Reeves, making the career transition, even though it meant a pay cut, was worth it. “I was able to coach my two boys at Hill Murray. I was able to go to all their hockey games and just be a dad, which I wasn’t really, truly able to do when I was gone coaching and on the road and recruiting. So, you know, you don’t make a ton of money coaching and working at a Catholic school, but at the same time, the quality of life that we’ve been able to have for the last five years has been amazing, and it’s been what I needed as a father.
“The only reason why my boys were able to go to Hill Murray was because we get the discount as an employee. And so my son is a captain on the hockey team. He’s our starting quarterback. They’re No. 1 in the state right now in hockey, so he’s been able to have that amazing experience because of everything that we’re able to receive by working at a Catholic school. So it’s all just falling into place. This is an amazing blessing financially for us. We are extremely grateful.”
Along with the Catholic Educator Promise, Saint Mary’s has always prioritized making education attainable for students of all income levels. As a part of this goal, the university also supports the Cardinal Promise, a financial aid commitment for Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin residents that has long provided extremely generous financial packages to students of modest means, covering the cost of tuition for students with a family AGI under $80,000. Learn more about Saint Mary’s Catholic Educator Promise and Cardinal Promise here.
