For 50 first-year UConn students, new scholarship program from The Hartford helps remove financial obstacles to success [Hartford Courant]

When UConn Hartford freshman Cesar Carreno, 19, first received an email saying he’d been awarded thousands of dollars through a new scholarship program, he assumed it was too good to be true.

“I’m looking over my emails, and it says: ‘Congratulations, you’ve been awarded $4,000!’ ... I thought it was a scam,” said Carreno, who graduated from Bulkeley High School in Hartford last summer and is planning to study mechanical engineering.

But after verifying that he was accepted into The Hartford Scholars Program — funded by a $1 million donation from The Hartford Insurance — he immediately called his mother.

“This means I can now slow down on picking up shifts at my job and help my mom around the house with paying the bills,” said Carreno. “And I can study more.”

Carreno and 49 other UConn Hartford first-year students will each receive about $20,000 in financial aid over the course of several years from The Hartford to ensure they graduate debt-free. In addition to covering the gap between a student’s existing financial aid package and the remaining tuition amount, the company will also provide students with an allowance for other expenses, like books and transportation. The Hartford announced the new initiative Thursday.

The scholarship money will go to 25 UConn Hartford students in the Class of 2025 and 25 students in the Class of 2026. Program participants, who must be Hartford city residents, are chosen by UConn’s enrollment planning and management division. Among other factors, demonstrated financial need plays a key role in student selection.

“In places like UConn Hartford, where we have a majority of first-generation students of color ... the challenges and obstacles for success [for] moving towards graduation [and] doing well in their classes are many,” said Mark Overmyer-Velázquez, the school director. “And the financial piece looms large.”

Tuition for undergraduate students at UConn’s regional campuses at Avery Point, Hartford, Stamford and Waterbury costs more than $15,000 per year, not including books, supplies, transportation or other needs.

Like Carreno, many students work at least one job, if not more, to support themselves and their families, said Overmyer-Velázquez, and the coronavirus pandemic has heightened financial instability.

“Relieving them of that obstacle to be able to focus on their studies and complete the degree within four years is a really transformative piece for them,” he said.

Doug Elliot, president of The Hartford — and the alum for whom UConn’s new baseball stadium is named — said he first received a call from then-President Thomas Katsouleas and the UConn Foundation in February. They asked if the insurance company could “help bridge some of the economic gaps” in aid funding for Hartford students, Elliot said, and The Hartford agreed.

In 2019, Katsouleas introduced a need-based aid program called the Connecticut Commitment that would cover the gaps between tuition cost and aid students receive from other sources, like Pell Grants and merit-based scholarships, for Connecticut students whose families make less than $50,000 annually. But the university paused the program in 2020, citing fundraising difficulties and financial strain caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It did not resume in 2021.

Elliot described The Hartford Scholars program as an opportunity to continue supporting the local community as well as the university’s talent pool. The Hartford currently employs more than 1,000 UConn alums, and many other corporations in the state recruit from the school each year, he said.

While the insurance company is planning to offer the students professional mentorship opportunities and summer internships, they have no obligations to join The Hartford after graduation, Elliot added, and the aid money will follow the students if they decide to transfer to a different UConn campus.

“The connection between education and success in life we think is well-documented, and we want to make sure we can do everything we can to make sure these folks are on that path,” Elliot said, noting that he’s hopeful more corporations in the state will consider adopting similar initiatives.

Overmyer-Velázquez, the UConn Hartford director, said about 1,600-1,700 undergrads are currently enrolled at the downtown campus, which was established in 2017.

Amanda Blanco can be reached at ablanco@courant.com.

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