Ellen Nizzi didn’t go to college in her 20s – her dream of pursuing higher education was interrupted by the Great Depression.

At 77, Nizzi finally decided she would get a degree. 

Last week, she celebrated her 104th birthday.

Nizzi is one of the three moms who inspired The Mom’s Project – a scholarship program for USF students pursuing undergraduate research in positive aging, substance abuse or nutrition.

It was founded in 2012 by three former USF faculty members – Nizzi’s daughter Catherine Batsche, Mary Armstrong and Roger Boothroyd – in honor of their moms’ passion for undergraduate research.

“The project came about because the three of us all have moms who, at the time, were alive and we were taking care of them at one level or another,” said Batsche, who came up with the idea for the endowment project.

Batsche said the goal of the over $150,000 scholarship endowment fund, in addition to supporting students, is remembering their moms. 

“We just kind of combined the two ideas,” Batsche said. “Our two passions: our love for our moms as well as our love for undergraduate research.”

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This spring, Caroline Kelley received a scholarship for her involvement with research on positive aging. 

Her project, which is led by professor Matthew Foster, studies “marginalized children with autism,” including their background and how to improve their social skills throughout their lives.

The senior language, speech and hearing sciences major said she plans to use the scholarship money to support her project, specifically giving gift cards to the study’s participants.

Kelley received the scholarship in Nizzi’s name. 

Nizzi graduated from Eckerd College in 2011 at 90 years old with a bachelor’s in creative writing, earning a standing ovation from the crowd, Batsche said. 

Batsche said her mom prioritized positive aging throughout her life, which helped her keep her mind young while her body aged.

“We kind of cast that in terms of positive aging,” she said. “Rather than limiting yourself to what you do or being regretful about what couldn’t happen in the typical time frame.”

While Kelley has not had the opportunity to meet Nizzi yet, this year’s recipient is hoping to do so at the spring banquet for scholarship recipients.

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Armstong honors her mother, Alice, who died in 2014, with a scholarship awarded to a student studying the effects substance abuse has on families. 

Armstrong’s brother struggled with alcoholism, so the issue is close to her heart.

Boothroyd’s mother, Ruth, wanted to be a nutritionist but put off her dream to support her husband when he went into the Marines. She died in 2019. 

“The whole purpose of it was to honor our moms,” Armstrong said. “But then we realized that there are many, many mothers who should be honored.”

The group began making additional donations to the endowment when a close friend’s mother died to keep more moms’ memories alive, Armstrong said.

Kelley said the scholarship made doing research at USF possible.

“This really gave me the opportunity to have a foot in the door and get started doing [my research],” Kelley said.

Batsche, Armstrong and Boothroyd met while working in USF’s College of Behavioral Community and Sciences. Batsche was the interim dean at the time, Armstrong was a professor and Boothroyd was a graduate student researcher. 

They’ve been friends ever since – so had their moms.

One of their favorite things to do together is go to USF basketball games. Then, one of them had the idea to bring their mothers, whom they began referring to as “the moms.”

“We go to a basketball game, we go out to dinner and it became, ‘Well, let’s do this with the moms,’” Boothroyd said.

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Armstrong and Boothroyd are married, and both of their mothers had dementia while living with the couple before they died. Boothroyd said caring for them was both funny and frustrating.

Nizzi played a key role in helping them through the challenges, the couple said. She knew how to engage with them, including writing letters with pictures and conversations. 

All three moms would go to the scholarship luncheon before Boothroyd’s mother and Armstrong’s mother died.

Now, it’s just Nizzi and the founders who attend.