Warner, Rochester Center for Community Leadership offer student scholarships

As part of a continued effort to support exceptional students who are committed to the Rochester community, the University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education has partnered with the Rochester Center for Community Leadership (RCCL) to offer a new scholarship program for members of the Rochester Urban Fellows Program and the Rochester Youth Year Fellowship who are interested in pursuing graduate study at the Warner School.

Over the next five years, a total of 50 part-tuition scholarships, covering one-third of tuition costs, will be awarded to eligible participants applying for admission to the Warner School’s master’s programs in teaching, educational policy, higher education, counseling, and human development. Additionally, the standard application fee for all prospective master’s students will be waived for all Rochester Youth Year/Urban Fellows members and alumni.

“We are inspired by the noble work that these two programs have done to engage students in playing an active role in strengthening the Rochester community,” said Raffaella Borasi, dean of the Warner School. “By funding the scholarships, we hope this will open up even more doors and create more opportunities for Rochester’s students to take a social justice stance and give back to their community through education.”

Students eligible for tuition assistance to the Warner School must earn admission to Warner and have successfully completed the Rochester Urban Fellows Program or the Rochester Youth Year Fellowship.

“The Rochester Center for Community Leadership is delighted to partner with the Warner School to offer scholarships to students who participate in our Rochester Urban Fellows Program and the Rochester Youth Year Fellowship,” said Glenn Cerosaletti, assistant dean of students & director of RCCL. “These two flagship programs have an established track record of engaging students with the Rochester community in ways that contribute to their undergraduate education and also provide reciprocal benefits for community organizations.”

Cerosaletti added that both RCCL programs have mobilized thousands of community volunteers over the past decade and generated over $1 million in cash and in-kind resources in an effort to alleviate poverty and strengthen the community. “At the same time, students have engaged with the community in ways that have focused or even changed their career plans, and have transformed them from students at the University to active and engaged citizens of the community,” Cerosaletti said.

Candidates for the scholarship do not have to fill out a separate application. They simply need to complete the Warner School’s regular application, which is online, and include their affiliation with the Rochester Youth Year Fellowship and Rochester Urban Fellows Program.

The Warner School provides some form of financial assistance to almost 60 percent of its students each year. Additional scholarship opportunities include Project PRESS Scholarships, Project CELLS scholarships, Fifth Year in Teaching Scholarships, UR Undergraduate Scholarships, and Dean’s Master’s Scholarships.

Rochester Urban Fellows Program
The Urban Fellows Program provides undergraduate students attending Rochester-area colleges, and natives of the Rochester area who are attending college elsewhere, with the opportunity to serve with community-based organizations for 10 weeks. Fellows engage in a variety of service projects and initiatives at their host sites and attend weekly seminars about urban life, culture, and politics.

Rochester Youth Year Fellowship
Rochester Youth Year (RYY) Fellowships are sponsored by AmeriCorps*VISTA and administered by the Rochester Regional Network, a consortium of seven local colleges. The Fellows, all recent college graduates, represent the University of Rochester, St. John Fisher College, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Roberts Wesleyen College, Nazareth University, SUNY Geneseo, and the College at Brockport. Through year-long partnerships with community organizations, Fellows work to alleviate poverty and strengthen the community in Rochester.