WORCESTER—Approximately 1,200 additional students can attend Clark University tuition-free thanks to an expansion of the University Park Partnership (UPP) Scholarship Zone by 31 streets.
Students qualify for the award if they are accepted to Clark and have lived in the University Park neighborhood for five years or more.
Since the fall of 2000, 163 students have graduated from the program, representing an investment of more than $11 million.
Joseph Corazzini, Clark’s vice president of government and community affairs, said when he assumed the position 2 ½ years ago, studying the zone became a priority.
“Looking at it (initially), a kid living across from University Park would qualify, but another living one street shy would not,” Corazzini said. Along with the board and administrative team at Clark, opportunities for expansion were identified and the new zone instituted earlier this year.
Corazzini said in addition to a tuition-free experience for four-year undergraduates, some Clark programs have a free fifth-year master’s degree tract for which these students also qualify.
Beyond the financial benefit to students, Corazzini said there is a significant added value for individual home owners.
“A lot of families choose to rent or buy in the neighborhood with the knowledge that by staying, their kids are going to be eligible for the scholarship,” he said.
Further, Corazzini said, is the advantage of having property owners live in the Worcester neighborhoods rather than in another city or state.
“The more home owners stay in the community, the stronger those communities are going to be,” he said.
The program is open to students attending any high school within the zone including Claremont Academy, South High Community School, Worcester Technical High School and more, although more than half of UPP scholars are from University Park Campus School (UPSC), which was created in 1997 in partnership with Clark.
Kaitlin Kelley Snow, principal of UPSC, said “100 percent” of the students are aware of the Clark scholarship program, with as many as a couple up to five or six of a graduating class of 42-44 students each year taking advantage of it.
“It is so ingrained in our school culture that if you do well, you can go to this amazing university for free,” Snow said.
For some students, a college education that would be “out of reach financially,” is now a possibility, Snow said.
“It is a nice motivator for families to put roots down and stay in the neighborhood,” she added.
She is aware of classmates from UPSC’s first graduating class in 2003 who attended Clark tuition-free via this scholarship.
Prior to becoming principal a year and a half ago, Snow was a teacher for 15 years and instructional coach. She received her undergraduate degree in history and her master’s degree in teaching from Clark University.
She said UPSC alumni provide “tremendous feedback,” about their positive experiences at the university.
Additionally, Snow said, some students return to give back to the school. She cited a Clark senior working on his capstone project that is doing just that for his former high school.
“It’s a full circle moment,” Snow noted.
She also is pleased that the zone has been adjusted, noting that previously some streets applicable to the Freeland Street school were applicable while others were not.
“It’s tremendous there will be no more exclusions,” she said.
The University Park Partnership (UPP) concentrates on housing and physical rehabilitation, education, economic development and social and recreational activities for residents in the Main South neighborhood.
Susan Gonsalves is currently the editor-in-chief of a mental health trade journal and a freelance writer/editor specializing in education, medical/health and business. She previously worked at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and has contributed to publications at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and College of the Holy Cross. At the Worcester Telegram, she covered the town of Leicester and wrote for Business Matters. She can be reached at smgedit@comcast.net
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