St. Pius X Connections had the chance to sit down with Frank D. Schubert ’78, Chair of the Endowment/Planned Giving Committee of the St. Pius X High School Foundation and ask him some important questions about giving at St. Pius X Foundation.

What does St. Pius mean to you?

I am fascinated when I read of the earliest commitments and sacrifices of those who first built St. Pius to foster Catholic values and create an inspired college preparatory experience of high quality. I am talking about the earliest parents, grandparents, faculty, alumni, teachers, staff and students. One of the first things I wanted to do when joining the Board was to offer special recognition to those who matched in present day dollars the 195 original $1,000 gifts from 1955 that built the school. A total of 195 families made that original $1,000 contribution – an amount equivalent to $10,000 each in today’s dollars. Imagine the sacrifice! These were the real pioneers, and we want to honor their contemporaries today who step forward with gifts of $10,000 as “New Founders” of St. Pius. We will add the new names every year alongside the original Founders Plaque for those who make gifts of $10,000 or more in “repayment” of these original gifts that created St. Pius.

What do you say to someone who asks: Is my gift to St. Pius important?

The primary work of the St. Pius X Foundation is to value and express appreciation for every single gift that comes to the school. Every amount is valued – from $10 to $10,000 and more – because it is going to the direct support of the school and especially to the financial assistance so necessary for students whose families sacrifice greatly but who still require a margin of support to attend St. Pius. A gift in any amount can be made to honor or memorialize a loved one. A gift can be designated for student financial assistance, faculty support or to the area of greatest need. The foundation is also fortunate to have many named endowments, created over time by particular families and loved ones to honor those named. (See the list of endowments by clicking here.) You can add to any of these existing endowments, or create a new permanently named endowment with a gift of $30,000 or more. 

My siblings Phyllis Schubert ’66 and John Casey ’66, Anita Schubert Brown ’68 and Richard, Joe Schubert ’70, and Al Schubert ’75 and Monique are grateful to honor our wonderful parents and the sacrifices they made to send us to St. Pius by establishing the Alfred and Edwina Maes Schubert Family Endowment. We know that they would be proud of us for “paying it forward.”

We received our very first student recipient thank you letter in September. The expression of thanks from this current St. Pius X student from the Class of 2023 moved us all to tears! Of course, it reminded us of our Freshman years at St. Pius and all that lay ahead of us. 

I also understand that you were the “anonymous” donor who fully funded the Sol Gutierrez Endowment. Tell us about that.

The Sol Gutierrez story to me is St. Pius at its finest. As a young girl, Sol came to Albuquerque with her family from her native Ecuador to receive spinal surgeries that were only available in the United States in the early 2000s. St. Pius students — not parents, but STUDENTS — rallied to her cause and raised more than $10,000 to cover the many expenses for her and her family as she underwent treatments here in Albuquerque and later surgeries in Philadelphia. Then in 2018, something magical happened. Through the efforts of Lynn Franchini Peckinpaugh ’64, Principal Barbara Rothweiler, SPX Foundation Board Member Eddie Castoria ’64 and others, Sol Gutierrez returned to her beloved St. Pius to complete her senior year of high school and graduate from her beloved “San Pio” in the Class of 2019. She became involved in many student activities in her senior year, including the Annual Talent Show, and she stunned the 2019 Gala attendees by singing a profound rendition of “Over the Rainbow” with a voice that could move angels. She is an exceptional talent! So there wasn’t any doubt in my mind that Sol Gutierrez and her friends and peers and all the good she represents for this school should be honored by a permanently endowed fund at St. Pius named the Sol Gutierrez Endowment. I was only “Anonymous” at the Gala because I wanted the night to be hers and not mine.

What is the future of St. Pius?

The future of the school is going to depend on two things. First, it is going to depend on an outstanding faculty which consistently raises the quality of instruction and achievement to the highest levels. It will take deeper funding from the foundation to attract and retain the “best and the brightest” to teach at St. Pius. Every alumnus has a few favorite teachers. For me it was Miss French and Primo Contreras and Ray Giannini. For others it was a Phil Zuber or a San Juan Mendoza. Think about this: Every current student at St. Pius has a favorite who is going to inspire them through their college years and beyond. So supplementing faculty salaries is key going forward. The foundation sees this as a very high priority. 

Secondly, I would say that student financial assistance is going to be enhanced in the greatest measure by those who create Planned Gifts which will come to St. Pius after you and I are both gone. Imagine your current assets — real estate, securities, insurances, retirement plans, cash accounts — and then imagine what a difference it would make in the life of a future St. Pius family to receive word of financial assistance made possible by your assets that outlive you. Most people don’t know that retirement plans and insurances can be directed to the St. Pius Foundation without changing your will. And if you do change your will over time, I urge you to consider making a percentage designation to the St. Pius X High School Foundation (Click here to learn more). Not only are you helping a future St. Pius family, you are also among those who experience in the deepest way the words of the wonderful Catholic hymn: “Where Charity and Love Prevail, There God is Ever Found.” Through your generous efforts and provisions, may St. Pius X High School in Albuquerque be always that special place of love and charity — where God is ever found.