DePaul University Athletics
Fellin Radiates in the Joy of Helping Others
5/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | DEPAUL ATHLETICS FUND
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CHICAGO - For the longest time, Ed Fellin didn't think he could top the feeling of working your way through college to become the first in your family to earn a degree.
Then, he discovered something even better.
The 1980 DePaul graduate is funding the Edward J. Fellin, CPA Endowed Scholarship to help a Blue Demon student-athlete who is majoring in accounting.
In the midst of DePaul Athletics' Scholarship Month in which alumni from DePaul teams engage in a friendly fundraising competition, Fellin's story resonates in a community that is a huge advocate of first-generation students.
The Franklin Park native worked after school at a machine shop and put in 10-hour days during spring break while his friends were on vacation. That blue-collar work ethic helped him to pay his way through DePaul and set the stage for a highly successful career in accounting.
"It's very gratifying to put yourself through college, said Fellin who is the senior director at the RSM finance and accounting firm. "But helping others, especially a first-generation student like I was is 100 times more gratifying. There is no comparison. Helping others is way better---it's not even close.
"I'm so mad I didn't start this 10 years ago. If only I had known how good it feels to help someone else out. There's nothing like it, and I wholeheartedly encourage other people to do the same. Actually, I'm currently looking for another scholarship to endow.
"The first time my scholarship goes to a first-generation student is going to be really special. I was the trailblazer for my family, and now I'm trying to be a trailblazer on the scholarship trail as well. I know what it takes to put yourself through college, and I can motivate others to do the same."
Fellin's passion for basketball originated with childhood friend Glen Grunwald, his teammate on their eighth grade team. Both went on to play at East Leyden where Grunwald was a high school All-American who became team captain of Indiana's 1981 national champion. He is currently senior vice president of basketball operations with the New York Knicks.
"That's how I got addicted to basketball," Fellin said. "We won all the time, and the team was 28-1 my junior year and 25-1 my senior year behind Glen. One of the reasons I chose DePaul was because it had a pretty good basketball team.
"I didn't think about going to college until my junior year. I was getting good grades and had a really good counselor at East Leyden who said that students with less academic ability than me were going to college. I did my research and fell in love with DePaul.
"My parents supported me but weren't sure about me giving up a paying job for college as there were a lot of unknowns. I had to forge my own path. I never questioned myself, and once I started, it was like lighting a match and I knew I had to keep on going."
The DePaul that Fellin attended in the 1970s was nothing like the ultramodern campus of today. But he discovered a commonality among students like himself.
"At DePaul, there were a lot of other first-generation students and we were all in the same boat," Fellin said. "We found ways to motivate each other. This was in the mid-1970s and all of us were paying our way through college. It wasn't a big deal because that's how we were raised.
"The campus and facilities back then were nothing like they are today. But we saw beyond all that. We were going to succeed no matter what. That was the mindset of our generation.
"Going to a school in Lincoln Park in the mid-70s was much different that it is today. Back then, it wasn't the safest neighborhood. But with all the great classmates and professors I encountered, it was like God was telling me to attend DePaul. It was such a perfect fit---I had to succeed."
Fellin is at the top of his profession, and his clients are among the wealthiest people on the planet.
"I take care of everything tax-related in their lives and save them millions of dollars," Fellin said. "But what they have taught me with their philanthropy and generosity setting up charities and fundraisers means a lot more than any amount of money."
Fellin remembers his days at DePaul like it was just last week.
"There was time me and a friend walked over to Alumni Hall looking to buy season tickets with our hard-earned money," Fellin said. "We ran into athletic director Gene Sullivan and asked if he could get us a good seat location. He set us up courtside.
"My junior year, DePaul's first nationally televised game was at Alumni Hall against LSU. I remember Mark Aguirre grabbed the opening tip, dribbled three or four times and dunked it. I saw us play Louisville with coach Denny Crum. Those games at Alumni Hall were such great basketball with future NBA players on both teams going head-to-head. The Notre Dame games were always exciting, and I saw us beat Georgetown with Patrick Ewing.
"My junior year, a friend of mine slept outside overnight to get tickets to the Final Four in Salt Lake City. We had the best time watching our team, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Back then, I just thought we'd be in the Final Four every year. My senior year, Aguirre and Terry Cummings led us to the No. 1 ranking.
"I've become a really big fan of the women's team and a season ticketholder. Coach Doug Bruno is doing a great job, and I never miss a women's game."
And he never misses a chance to give back to the university.
"When it comes to the scholarship, I have a lot of connections to the college of commerce and the athletics department," Fellin said. "When I was president of Ledger & Quill, I would invite members of the athletics department to our events. When it came time to endow a scholarship, I couldn't decide which one to support first.
"It turned out my scholarship is for a student-athlete who is an accounting major---a perfect marriage of my two passions. The combined scholarship was among the first of its kind at DePaul.
"I've worked with recent DePaul graduates, and all the money I send to DePaul---it reinforces what I'm doing is the right thing. And helping someone else is so much better than helping yourself."
