125 Hartford Public Schools seniors get full ride to college
Over one hundred 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.
Every new Hartford Promise Scholar, starting with the class of 2025, is eligible for up to $100,000 over four years toward any accredited four-year college.
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.
“I know I’m going to do big things and I’m going to achieve everything I want to,” she said. “That’s mainly thanks to the hard work that I’ve put in but also Hartford Promise, this money that I’m receiving is opening so many doors, and I know that I’m going to be making my parents proud.”
Since the nonprofit began about a decade ago, more than 1,300 students have received scholarships.
Of those, 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, Harford Promise President.
“They are nurses in our hospitals, they’re teachers here in Hartford Public Schools, they’re working as engineers at Electric Boat and Pratt and Whitney, they’re working in the insurance fields, travelers in the Hartford, they’re doing so many things,” she said.
In addition to scholarships, Hartford Promise also helps students throughout college and during the job search post-grad.
“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.”
Dr. Andraé Townsel, the Hartford Public Schools superintendent, knows what it’s like to need financial support. He said a full scholarship to Howard University in D.C. changed his life.
“The scholarship turned to a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and ultimately a doctoral degree, which led to me to be a superintendent of a school system so I’m always looking to positively impact young people’s lives by changing their trajectory,” he said. “I love Hartford Promise because it’s literally breaking barriers for young people.”
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.
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