The Tommy Woycik ’85 Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

“The Brother Rice experience represents the foundational link in the chain of my education and the critical stepping stone upon which my success in college, graduate school, and as an entrepreneur is based. I am forever indebted to my parents for their great sacrifice. It is my sincerest hope to pay it forward so that the next generation of students will be inspired through this Institute to follow their dreams and create exceptional products, companies, and rewarding careers for thousands of others.” — Tommy Woycik ‘85

Son, Entrepreneur, Loyal Alumnus of Brother Rice
Founder of NEXTEP Systems, a global hospitality technology company 

Happiness is often best measured through the prism of gratitude. Seeing opportunity in one’s life as a gift made possible through the kindness and generosity of those who came before is a testament to a life well-lived. It is a generational story of parental values gifted without pretense or obligation so that a child can achieve his or her dreams. It is a story of modesty and simplicity, humility and decency, faith and character – family values lived, parental lessons instilled.  Such is the story of a loyal alumnus of Brother Rice High School and countless other alumni who know the great sacrifice made by parents who gifted a Brother Rice education to their sons as a gateway to a life of purpose, integrity, and excellence. In gratitude for the indelible mark, Ed & Mary Woycik have left on their son’s life, Tommy Woycik ’85 has given back to his alma mater in loving honor of his parents and the values they instilled in him. Made possible by a $1,000,000 gift from Nicole & Tommy Woycik ’85, we are pleased to announce the Tommy Woycik ’85 Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Brother Rice High School.   Housed within The Center for Learning & Achievement at Brother Rice, The Tommy Woycik ’85 Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship will serve as a dynamic cross-disciplinary incubator for student and faculty ideation, collaboration, team building, and enterprise skill development. This institute will be central to the learning experience for students throughout their tenure at Brother Rice.   The Tommy Woycik ’85 Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship is envisioned to host student and alumni collaboratives, faculty seminars and symposiums, entrepreneur forums, and curriculum-based experiential learning opportunities such as summer internships and mentor days with affiliated entrepreneurs throughout metro-Detroit. Rooted in a creative passion, an intellectual curiosity, and a disciplined personal drive, hallmarks of Tommy Woycik’s life witnessed in the classrooms and on stage at Brother Rice will now be an inspiration for future generations of Warriors to come. Through the institute that will bear his name, Tommy’s goal of giving back is not only to inspire students to entrepreneurial pursuits and personal dreams but also to inspire fellow alumni to recognize, as he has, the gift of a Brother Rice education and pay it forward for future generations to come.  We are humbled by Tommy’s commitment to his alma mater and ever grateful for this investment in the future of Brother Rice High School.