Love and Legacy: The Compagnuccis

It was Easter break, 1979.

Veronica Compagnucci ’95 was managing an AT&T store in Florida at the time when she flew home to spend the holiday weekend with family. During a trip into Philadelphia with a group of friends, she was introduced to the manager of Pat’s Steaks.

They exchanged numbers, she flew back to Florida, and the rest is, well, their history.

“I remember when I met him, I was already in this stage where I knew I needed a change,” said Veronica. “One day I called him very upset, wanting to leave, and he was on a plane the next day to drive home with me.”

Charles Compagnucci showed up in West Palm Beach with nothing but a single red rose and a promise—that even though they were headed back north, Veronica would never have to a spend a winter there. The two of them were married that weekend and settled down in the small town of Glassboro.

It was over a decade later while Veronica was working at The Limited when Charles said to her, “Why are you working there? It isn’t what you love.”

“I loved reading,” Veronica explained. “I always loved English and the art of writing. And he was the one who encouraged me to go back to school.”

A nontraditional student, Veronica not only graduated from Rowan with a bachelor’s degree in English, she also earned a master’s degree from West Chester University after spending a semester at Oxford.

“College was a really important and special time,” she said. “It was overwhelmingly beautiful and exciting and opened so many doors for me.”

Veronica soon became a professor at Rowan and spent close to 20 years teaching a wide variety of subjects including poetry, short story, drama, U.S. literature and world literature.

“My students taught me so much,” she said. “It was enlightening to see how personally they took literature, and poetry in particular. Their poems were extremely personal and very poignant. It was so rewarding to see.”

Compagnucci described her years at Rowan as simply, “all the happy feelings.”

“We’ve been part of the Glassboro community for 40 years,” she said. “Rowan was such a huge part of my life, and I wanted to do something that would bring opportunity to someone who needed it—the way Rowan did for me.”

The Veronica Compagnucci ’95 and Charles Compagnucci English and Entrepreneurship Endowed Scholarship Fund was established to support students in both English and business, taking two passions and crafting it into one remarkable gift.

Charles graduated from Loyola College with a business degree and has always had an entrepreneurial spirit.

“He’s not just a businessman,” said Veronica. “He’s a boat captain, a restaurateur, a carpenter, a chef! He really wanted that entrepreneurship part. When he does something, he really does it, and that’s what he inspired me to do.”

“When I went back to school,” she continued, “it was at a time in my life where I could afford it, but it never left my mind how important scholarships are to young people, especially after all the years I taught. I knew what my students were doing, the jobs they were coming from, how hard they were working, and I knew I wanted to help.”

Designated as a bequest, the couple’s endowed scholarship fund will support students in need while ensuring the legacy of their unique story will last in perpetuity.

“Charles and I have such faith in education,” Veronica concluded. “After all that it did for us—our lives together, our accomplishments, our dreams—if we could help other students achieve that, then it’s money well spent.”