The WE Dream Fund Empowers Through Education

 

By Mike Benigno

When Emilia Fazzalari, P ’24, reflects on her own journey—as a daughter of Italian immigrants, and the only girl in a family where education was seen as out of reach—she doesn’t speak of limitation but of fire.

“I heard ‘no’ a lot growing up,” she recalls. “‘No, that’s not for girls. No, stay close to home, and don’t go away to college.’ These limits, coming from love and caution, inspired my work ethic by lighting a fire within me.”

This fire led Emilia to become a successful entrepreneur, a devoted mother, and now a passionate philanthropist. Emilia and her husband, Wyc Grousbeck, fellow entrepreneur and co-owner and CEO of the Boston Celtics, are currently building something deeply personal and profoundly impactful: the WE Dream Fund. The WE Dream Fund is a scholarship initiative dedicated to empowering young women through education. 

This fall, Dominican Academy will welcome its first-ever recipient of the WE Dream Scholarship: Isabella, a student whose full potential can now be realized. But this is just the beginning. Each year going forward, the fund will provide a full, four-year scholarship to a new incoming student. Eventually, there will be one WE Dream scholar in every grade, each benefiting from the life-changing education in which Emilia passionately believes.

Building Bridges, Opening Doors

The WE Dream Fund was born of a simple but powerful idea: that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. 

For Emilia, who saw her own trajectory altered by access to education, it’s about more than just covering tuition. “It’s about opening doors, building confidence, and creating a network of support,” she explains.

Though its roots are personal, the initiative is expansive. Since its founding, WE Dream has launched scholarship partnerships with prestigious institutions in Italy, including Bocconi University and LUISS University, focusing on young women from the hometown of Emilia’s family in Calabria. In the United States, the fund now supports students at Dominican Academy and Xavier High School—alma maters of Emilia’s children—and will soon extend to Messina College at Boston College, a program designed for first-generation and underrepresented students.

Each of these institutions, Emilia notes, shares a core commitment: “They don’t just educate—they empower.” 

That alignment is especially clear at Dominican Academy, a school with a long legacy for helping bright, motivated students from all walks of life reach their fullest potential. More than 50% of today’s student body receives substantial merit scholarships and financial aid, reflecting the deeply rooted commitment to accessibility maintained by the school and the generosity of its donors. The results speak for themselves: all of D.A.’s graduating seniors are accepted into four-year colleges and universities, including the nation’s most selective schools, and the Class of 2025 earned more than $23 million in scholarships and grants.

“In partnering with Dominican Academy, the WE Dream Fund isn’t just investing in individuals—it’s joining forces with a school that has made educational transformation its mission,” said D.A. President Alexandria M. Egler, Ph.D., P’10.

D.A.’s First WE Dream Scholarship Recipient

When Emilia envisioned the ideal recipient of the WE Dream Scholarship, she wasn’t thinking of a specific resume or test score. She was thinking of someone with “curiosity, grit, and dreams bigger than her circumstances.”

The selection process, she adds, is intentional and empowering. Partner schools themselves identify candidates who embody this spirit—students with strong academic promise, financial need, and the spark of a drive that can be nurtured into something life-changing.

“She may be the first in her family to go to college,” Emilia says. “She may dream of becoming a doctor, an engineer, or an entrepreneur—or maybe she’s still figuring it out. But what she knows is that a great education is the beginning of something bigger.”

Isabella T., ’29, the first Dominican Academy scholar, visited D.A. for the first time while in the seventh grade at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic Academy in Forest Hills, Queens. A student-athlete and member of the debate team, Isabella was twice recognized for academic excellence. She comes to D.A. ready to jump into extracurricular activities and experience the personal growth that the school is well known for instilling in its students.

 

More Than a Scholarship: A Sisterhood

From the start, Emilia and Wyc’s commitment has been more than financial—it’s familial. Meeting Isabella this spring was “deeply personal,” Emilia says. The family plans to remain closely involved with each recipient throughout her time at the school: celebrating milestones, offering mentorship, and ensuring that no one walks this path alone.

“This is a long-term commitment,” she emphasizes. “I want the WE Dream Scholarship to be more than a source of funding—I want it to feel like someone saw your potential, gave you a shot, and stayed in your corner.”

Ultimately, Emilia hopes the fund becomes a generational sisterhood: a ripple effect where today’s scholars become tomorrow’s mentors, and each girl lifts up the next.

This ripple begins at home.

Emilia’s daughter Francesca, of Dominican Academy’s Class of 2024, knows the power of the school’s mission firsthand. “My time at D.A. was defined by a deep appreciation for academic rigor and intellectual growth,” Francesca said.

The WE Dream Fund aims to cultivate a similar commitment to excellence and growth in its scholars, and Francesca’s close relationship with the initiative adds another dimension of authenticity—one that bridges the gap between a dream and a reality. She brings a perspective that’s “real and relatable,” Emilia notes, and is poised to play an increasing role as a giving advisor and mentor. “She’s someone the scholars can talk to, lean on, and grow with.”

Pairing Potential with Possibility

The WE Dream Fund will pair potential with possibility at Dominican Academy. Driven by the unshakable belief that one girl’s education can change everything, Emilia hopes that success won’t just be measured by awards or accolades but by self-realization.

“If our scholars walk out of school with a stronger sense of who they are and what they’re here to do, that’s success,” Emilia says. Whether their future lies in medicine, the arts, business, or advocacy, the goal is to give them tools—and belief—to carve out their own paths.

In Emilia’s words, “If people look at this and say, ‘This is what made the difference,’ then we’ve done what we came to do.”