John and Mary Chiappetta

Mary K. Chiappetta established this Fund in memory of her husband, John Chiappetta and shared the following: "Attending NIU changed our lives forever…in such a positive way! I met John Chiappetta at a party shortly after starting my freshman year. We would see each other in class and at social events over the next four years. (I was always secretly crazy about him!)
We had so very much in common. We both grew up on the south side of Chicago. We both worked to put ourselves through college. We both were students in the College of Business, majoring in marketing. (Marketing was so very different than it is today, with digital efforts and social media!)
Fast forward to post graduation. John and I ran into each other again, began dating, got married, bought our first house and had a baby.
For decades, we were blessed with wonderful jobs in our field of study. John got his first sales job for Dictaphone (look it up!) and I snagged a job in marketing at Chemetron Corporation. One job led to another, then to another…but it all started with our B.S. degrees from Northern in 1977.
John passed away from cancer in 2004 at the age of 50, just before our 25th wedding anniversary. In memory of John, and to celebrate his life, an endowment has been established to benefit business school students from our beloved childhood neighborhoods on the south side of Chicago.
Attending and graduating from NIU changed our lives in such a beautiful way. Hoping the same for you! May God bless you in all you do! Go Huskies!