Scholarship Support for STEP Students Spans the Generations
Joseph T. Ambrozy ’61 M.S. ’63 and Humberto Flores ’25 attended Stevens in decidedly different eras, but they share a common experience as first-generation students. They share something else as well: a mission to support the Stevens students of the future.
Stevens is grateful to every member of the Edwin A. Stevens (EAS) Society, Stevens’ recognition society for annual, leadership-level donors. Their loyal and generous support helps ensure that Stevens students are taught by world-class faculty, that they have opportunities to participate in groundbreaking research in state-of-the-art facilities, and that they have access to unparalleled career development experiences. They are fueling a bold vision for technology-infused education.
The impact of EAS Society support is felt broadly across the university, and also deeply by our students. One of our more recent examples involves an alumnus from the Class of 1961 who has directed his support toward scholarships, and the student from the Class of 2025 who not only benefited from the scholarship but used it as an inspiration for raising additional funds to support students in 2025-26.
Despite the difference in their ages, Joseph T. Ambrozy ’61 M.S. ’63 and Humberto Flores ’25 have a few things in common. Both experienced the challenges of being the first in their families to attend college. And both are committed to providing scholarships for the first-generation college students of the future.
Ambrozy grew up in Jersey City, the son of European immigrants who had little opportunity for education. “I went through the city’s public school system,” he says. “I was a bright kid but didn’t know much about the world. Stevens was like a whole new universe for me. Meeting people from different backgrounds was a game changer for me.”
After completing his undergraduate degree and master’s at Stevens, Ambrozy began working at what was then New Jersey Bell Telephone. “I was in an accelerated management program, did well, and transferred to AT&T first as director of Product Marketing and later as a regional general manager overseeing more than 800 operators,” he says. “I returned to New Jersey Bell which by then was Bell Atlantic, and was elected to launch the cellular company, Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems, which became Verizon Wireless after I retired. I had a very rewarding career because of Stevens.”
Ambrozy remained loyal to his alma mater through philanthropy and by serving as a trustee. Now a trustee emeritus, Ambrozy continues to give generously to the university. He established the Joseph T. Ambrozy ’61 Endowed Scholarship, first awarded in 2019, for students in the university’s Stevens Technical Enrichment Program (STEP). “STEP didn’t exist when I was an undergraduate at Stevens, but I see the value the program brings to students,” he says, “The support they get from STEP is important to their chances for success, even though they come to college knowing technology in a way that my generation didn’t. We were using slide rules manufactured in Hoboken!”
Like Ambrozy, Flores spent his early years in Hudson County and would become a first-generation college student. But that outcome was not a given. “At 15, I wasn’t even thinking about college,” he says. “I didn’t think it would even be possible for me.”
Early job experience with his uncle’s construction business inspired him to reconsider. “The work was hard,” Flores recalls. “I would see what the superintendents on the job site were doing vs. what the workers had to do. I started to think differently about my career and life.”
Initially, Flores wanted to study architecture, but one of his high school teachers suggested engineering. “She said to aim higher,” he recalls. “Stevens was on my college list and offered me a great financial aid package. When I toured the campus, I knew that this is where I wanted to be.”
STEP was crucial for Flores. “When I started at Stevens, STEP was on Zoom because of the pandemic,” he says. “Still, the people at the program did everything they could to help me succeed by setting up tutors and offering administrative support. They made an effort to get to know me. STEP gave me my first roommates and connected me to the Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity.”
Here is where their stories meet. Like Ambrozy, Flores is grateful for the opportunities he found at Stevens and is eager to give back to the university and the program that helped him so much. Flores, an Ambrozy scholar and STEP alumnus, approached his fraternity – and his co-op employer, Hunter Roberts Construction Group – to provide additional support for two STEP students in the coming academic year.
“I come from a household that lived paycheck to paycheck,” Flores explains. “I assumed that college would either be unaffordable or put me into a lot of debt. Having scholarships to cover the cost is transformative for students like me.”
When Ambrozy learned of Flores’ efforts to match his support, he was touched. “I was hoping something like this would happen,” he says. “It is so inspirational to see a young man use the leverage he received to create new leverage!”
Flores, who graduated in May, will stay on at Hunter Roberts. “As a co-op employee, they let me try different aspects of the industry, including purchasing, project management, and superintendent responsibilities,” he says. “I liked being superintendent the most.”
Flores is looking forward to taking the next steps in his life but anticipates staying involved with Stevens as much as possible. “I want to keep the scholarship going, and I am going to want to attend alumni weekends and STEP events,” he says.
Ambrozy is proud of Flores, and of the generations of professionals who have emerged from Stevens. “Stevens is the best performance school in this part of the country,” he says. “It prepares students for rewarding careers, and it produces people who really contribute to their industries. Giving to Stevens is an excellent investment in the future.”
Flores agrees. “Not everybody has the same opportunities,” he says. “By supporting scholarships at Stevens you can make a real difference in someone’s life.”
Every gift at the EAS Society level has the power to transform students’ lives through scholarships, and through a stellar educational experience that offers access to excellent faculty and research opportunities in state-of-the-art labs, and that connects them to rewarding and lucrative career paths.