A second collection during Masses during the weekend of Sept. 2 will provide parishioners across the diocese the chance to support students – some from local parishes – attending The Catholic University of America, Washington.

Proceeds will provide support for room and board and general tuition costs, both expenses that a university alumnus says are mounting.

Kevin Walsh, a member of St. Mary Parish, Middletown, and a member of the Board of Governors for CUA, was dependent upon such support when he attended the university with his siblings.

“I was one of four in my family that went to the university, and three of us at one time were all there,” he said. “Having a resource or resources to fall back on, and to help with room and board and general tuition – it is an absolute need.”

Without such support, Walsh said, his family would not have been able to afford a CUA education for him or his siblings – Christopher, Kerry and Kimberly.

Of the 210 Diocese of Trenton natives currently hitting the books at CUA, 177 receive financial aid, receiving a collective total of $2,473,710 – averaging roughly $13,000 per student.

The cost of receiving a Catholic education can be burdensome, Walsh said, but support from fellow Catholics can go a long way in supporting students as they pursue their degrees and root their education in faith. He emphasized the importance of the annual September second collection in providing the much-needed support.

With more than 250 academic programs for both undergraduate and doctoral students, CUA provides a Catholic education for clergy, religious and young lay men and women.