Paul Bass Photo
Casanova and Melton at WNHH FM.
Patricia Melton recognized Jorgieliz Casanova’s promise. She also recognized a lift she’d need to fulfill it.
The result: Casanova aced her college’s honors program, graduated cum laude, and is now helping Melton offer the same kind of guidance to the next crop of New Haven public-school students navigating the world of college and careers.
Melton has run New Haven Promise, the Community Foundation and Yale-backed scholarship program for public-school students, since 2012. The program has expanded fast under her leadership, with 359 New Haveners beginning college this fall with help this fall. That represents 75 percent growth in just three years.
In addition to offering money, New Haven Promise steers students to paying internships and tracks their progress to offer crucial advice or help when needed. The way Melton did with Casanova.
The two told the story about what happened next during an appearance Wednesday on WNHH radio’s “Dateline New Haven” program.
Melton met Casanova at a Dwight neighborhood family fair in 2013. Casanova had just graduated high school at Metropolitan Business Academy. She was headed to study criminal justice and sociology at Albertus Magnus College. One of six children raised by a single mother in the Hill, Casanova would be the first member of her family to attend college; the Promise program was helping her do that by paying 75 percent of the tuition.
As part of that scholarship, Casanova agreed to perform 40 hours of community service. She loved volunteering. Melton noticed that Casanova had performed 100 hours of service. She could tell the yougng woman had something special.
Melton — a Yale grad who also was the first in her family to attend college — also learned that Casanova was working full-time at Stop & Shop to help pay the college bill. And she knew that could be a problem.
“One of the number one reasons people drop out of college is because” they’re working too many hours to pay the bills, Melton said.
Melton wooed Casanova to work part-time at New Haven Promise, helping her keep track of how students were doing in college. She paid far more than the $9.25 Casanova was earning per hour at Stop & Shop, so Casanova could have more time to study.
Casanova stuck with the job, and stuck with her studies, for the full four years. She enrolled in the honors track. She graduated cum laude this past spring.
And she stuck with Promise. She’s now working there full time while she prepares to enroll next January in graduate school at Southern Connecticut State University. Her goal: to become a bilingual teacher in New Haven.
Click on or download the above audio file to hear the full interview with Patricia Melton and Jorgieliz Casanova on WNHH radio’s “Dateline New Haven” about Casanova’s journey and about the Promise program.
Or click on the above video to watch the Facebook Live version of the show.