More than thirty years ago, a kid from Dorchester received a scholarship from Suffolk University that changed his life forever. Now, Adam Russo, a lawyer and entrepreneur, has established his Russo Family Scholarship Fund exclusively for Dorchester students who attend Suffolk.

“I lived in Dorchester from the time I was born, to the time I was 16 and then I moved back when I finished school and I lived on Boston Street,” said Russo. “My best friends today all either still live in Dorchester or spend a lot of time there like I do.”

Russo, the CEO and co-founder of The Phia Group, LCC, and co-founder and managing partner of The Law Offices of Russo & Minchoff, grew up in the neighborhood’s Polish Triangle, raised by a single mom who emigrated to the US from Poland and worked three jobs to provide for her family. 

“I always wanted to be a lawyer because my mom had a hard time dealing with the court system with my dad’s visitation rights, and child support. And she spoke broken English,” said Russo. “While I was in school, we didn’t even talk about college, but I wanted to be a lawyer and to be one, you have to go to college.” 

Russo spent his first two years of high school at the Boston Latin School, then transitioned to North Quincy High School when his family moved out of the neighborhood. 

While living in Quincy, Russo wanted to attend a college that was close to home and affordable. Originally, he had imagined himself at Harvard or Boston College, but Suffolk offered him a scholarship that he couldn’t turn down. 

“I always knew I wanted to go to college, so I applied to a bunch of places. Suffolk gave me basically a free ride. I didn’t have enough money to pay for a semester or even a couple of classes,” he said.  “When that happened it obviously changed my life. I was able to go to college and live at home the entire time.”

He graduated from Suffolk in 1996 and was then awarded another scholarship to continue his studies at Suffolk Law School.

Just a year later, he started his own company with his friend Mike Branco. Today that company, the Phia Group, LCC, which consults on healthcare cost containment, has 300 employees in Boston, Louisville, and Boise. 

Russo knows that his company would not exist without Suffolk. “The best thing that ever happened to me was that they gave me that scholarship. I always remember that and that’s why it’s really important for me to have that opportunity to help others,” Russo told The Reporter. “The fund is only for a Dorchester resident, that’s it. You have to live in Dorchester. It’s basically the same exact scholarship that was given to me. I figured I should do the same for some other kid in a similar situation.”

He added: “Dorchester is a cool place to live. [The scholarship] isn’t about taking kids out of Dorchester. It’s about taking kids that are in Dorchester who maybe don’t have the same opportunity as some kid who lives in Milton or Weston or wherever and giving them an opportunity while also being there as a mentor to help them with whatever they want to do with their lives.”

This fall will be the first time a student at Suffolk University will begin his or her college career with the support of the Russo Family Scholarship Fund. While only one student was awarded the scholarship this time, Russo hopes to see the fund continue to grow so that multiple scholarships can be granted each year. 

When choosing the candidate, Russo said, “it’s all tied to understanding the person’s story.” He said they will select “a kid who actually wants to go to college. You see they do great in school, they’re motivated, they have a tough upbringing, and they don’t have the financial backing from their family to go to a four-year college.” 

Russo, however, isn’t just giving away money. Instead, he wants to be a mentor for these young adults in all aspects of life.
“Having the scholarship would give them the opportunity to have that first step. Even though they get the money, they still have to do well, so working with that student as a mentor, touching base with them, offering opportunities for work, having someone to talk to, and then watching them grow,” Russo said. “My favorite thing is watching people grow as humans, as adults.”