The Castañeda, Paredes, Krupczynski Family Scholarship Endowment was created by a multigenerational, Latino family of UMass Amherst faculty and alumni to expand access, opportunity, and belonging for first-generation students.

For Commonwealth Honors College Dean (CHC) Mari Castañeda, Architecture Professor Joseph Krupczynski ’01MS, and their son, Miguel Angel Paredes ’17, UMass Amherst has been more than a university. It’s been a source of community, a locus for career growth, and the place where their shared belief in education as a vehicle for equity and opportunity has flourished.

That belief now takes lasting form through the newly established Castañeda, Paredes, Krupczynski (CPK) Family Scholarship Endowment, which supports first-generation students enrolled in the Commonwealth Honors College, with preference for those majoring in theater, architecture, or communication.  

“Establishing this scholarship has always been a dream of ours,” says Castañeda. “We’ve been saving over time with the goal of one day creating a family scholarship that positively impacts students.”    

Each member of the family has a deep connection to UMass. Castañeda has spent more than two decades at the university in multiple roles, including dean, associate dean for equity and inclusion, and professor and chair of the communication department.

Krupczynski earned his master’s degree from UMass, focused on community-based design as an architecture professor, and now leads the Office of Civic Engagement and Service-Learning. Paredes, a 2017 recipient of the 21st Century Leader Award, says his theater studies and honors thesis experience at UMass helped set the course for his creative and professional life.  

The CPK Endowment gives back to the departments that helped shape them, supports students who are the first in their families to attend college, and reaffirms the importance of the discipline scholarship recipients are pursuing.  

“Our departments have also been so supportive of us in our journeys, so prioritizing those majors was key,” Castañeda says. “We’re saying, thank you so much for the support you gave us. Now we want to support students from those departments as well.”  

As faculty and parents, Castañeda and Krupczynski watched Paredes thrive in the theater program, a full-circle experience that deepened their connection to UMass Amherst.  

“The university gave him multiple opportunities to be his best self,” says Castañeda. “As a parent, it was powerful and wonderful to witness firsthand.”  

Reflecting on his time as an undergraduate, Paredes says, “I feel very lucky I had all the experiences and opportunities I did. I was able to tap into so many of the resources at UMass. I just want other people to feel like they have that same access—to think, yes, I can come to UMass and excel.”  

The scholarship’s name honors the family’s three distinct surnames, symbolizing both individuality and connection.  

“We all have different last names; we all have our own identities; but we’ve always been a unit – a family,” says Krupcynzski. “We’re CPK, and we share values. The things we’ve done in our lifetimes that have had the greatest impact have always been because we’ve done it together.”  

Throughout their lives and careers, the family has been deeply committed to social justice, opportunity, and access, intentionally seeking ways to uplift those around them.  

“With this scholarship, we’re hoping to create opportunities for students to see themselves represented and to have access to all that they need. I was a scholarship recipient myself when I was an undergraduate. That was very impactful in my ability to make progress in my educational journey. It has transformed my life, my family’s life, and beyond.”

Commonwealth Honors College Dean (CHC) Mari Castañeda 

Krupcynzski echoes that sentiment. “If we think about what social justice is and can be, it’s about creating opportunities. In the context of higher education, we’re creating opportunities to belong.”  

For the family, identity and purpose are inseparable. Though the scholarship is open to all students who meet the criteria, it proudly reflects their Latino heritage.  

“We have a lot of pride in being Mexi-Rican. We have a lot of pride in being Chicana, Chicano, Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Boricua, Latinx. We fly that flag,” Castañeda says. “In this political moment that often tries to hide that pride, we’re going to wave that flag even higher.”

This scholarship is also the first in CHC to be endowed by a dean, which Castañeda says feels like a historic moment.  

Paredes agrees. “I hope the story of our family will resonate with students. I’d love for them to learn that they not only got a scholarship but that it’s funded by the dean of the Honors College.”  

The family hopes others will join in giving, too. They’re inviting friends, family, extended families, and other first-generation and/or Latinx families to contribute to the scholarship so its impact on students is even greater.  

“This scholarship represents something inherent in Latino culture—wanting to help each other. There’s this phrase I’ve been hearing a lot lately: Poner agua en los frijoles. It’s this idea of putting water in the frijoles so you can make more, share more. That’s a big framework that we have in our family and in the culture,” says Paredes. “It's something I hope this scholarship will be able to do. We’ve been able to get so much from UMass, and now we want to pour that back in and support more students.”  

Support the Castañeda, Paredes, Krupczynski (CPK) Family Scholarship Endowment to help first-generation Honors College students access opportunity, build belonging, and create lasting impact.