Over 100 high school seniors in Hartford Public Schools are going to college for free, thanks to scholarships provided by Hartford Promise. Eligible students receive up to a $20,000 Hartford Promise Scholarship, and an additional $80,000 scholarship from the Greater Hartford Gives Foundation through their new Greater Futures Scholarship. This year, 125 students are recipients.
Eligibility Requirements
Eligibility requirements include being a Hartford resident for all four years of high school in Hartford Public Schools, a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, and a 93% school attendance rate. Milady Rivera, a Weaver High School Senior, is going to the University of Connecticut on a full ride.
“I feel like I have freedom,” she said. “I can go in, pursue any topic I want, I can go learn anything I want to, and not have to worry.” She’s the youngest of nine kids and the first to pursue a career in healthcare.
Since the nonprofit began about a decade ago, more than 1,300 students have received scholarships. 450 are in college, about 500 have graduated, and most have returned to serve in the city they grew up in, according to Dr. Sivan Hines, Hartford Promise President.
Supporting Students
Our students reflect Hartford’s population, 75% are first-generation college students, so they’re the first in their family to go to college, or at least to graduate from college,” Hines said. “They don’t know how to navigate systems that weren’t necessarily designed for them.”
Hartford Promise receives funding from foundations, corporations, and individual donors. Hines said there is no limit to how many students can be inducted into Hartford Promise each year. Staff also work with students who are close to a 3.0 GPA to improve their grades so they can qualify for the scholarships.
Original reporting: NBC Connecticut — read the source article.
