Building a Generation of College Graduates and

Transforming Our Community

February 2026 Newsletter

While the New Year has brought unseasonably cold weather and lots of snow our way, it has also delivered exciting new initiatives, vital new partnerships and impressive academic achievements that will drive scholar success in college and beyond. We look forward to working with the newest members of the Promise family in the year ahead and doubling down on our efforts to build Connecticut’s next generation workforce—one scholar at a time!

Check out what we have been up to so far in 2026, what we have planned in the months ahead and how you can join us to support Waterbury’s bright future!

Waterbury Promise and Saint Mary's Hospital

Launch New Mentorship Program

From left to right:Hedy Ayers, Waterbury Promise's Director of Development and Community Engagement, Kelonda Maull, Waterbury Promise’s Executive Director, Hauwa Mahe, Waterbury Promise Plus Program mentee, Shawna Edwards, DNP, MSN, RN, Chief Nursing Officer of Saint Mary's Hospital, and Robert Roose, MD, MPH, President of Saint Mary’s Hospital

The Promise Team is thrilled to announce the launch of the Waterbury Promise Plus Program in collaboration with Saint Mary’s Hospital. This exciting mentorship initiative will provide scholars preparing for careers in health care with invaluable hands-on experience and individualized guidance while they complete their degrees. Hauwa Mahe, a rising senior nursing student at Southern Connecticut State University, was selected through a competitive application process as the program’s inaugural participant. This unique opportunity will help shape her understanding of patient care, clinical teamwork, and the specialty she is so passionate about—Labor and Delivery. Congratulations Hauwa, we know your strong work ethic and kind spirit will serve you well!

We are truly grateful to Saint Mary’s Hospital for expanding upon an already wonderful partnership that has included job shadowing, financial and program support, and leadership engagement. We hope this initiative will serve as a model that will be replicated across sectors as we build out our career readiness programming for our nearly 900 scholars!

Scholar Spotlight: Grad School Bound!

While many scholars from our inaugural cohort will complete their four-year journeys this May, some have already fast-tracked to a life-changing college degree and have set their sights on earning a master’s! Icaro Leal Pamplona graduated with his bachelor’s degree in finance from CCSU in December and has already transitioned into the university’s MBA program. His long-term goal? To build a career in finance, specifically in financial analysis, wealth management, or corporate finance. He hopes to grow into a financial advisor/analyst role, helping individuals and businesses make strong financial decisions. He told us he is committed to continuous learning and professional development so he can become a trusted expert in the field. We love this!

Icaro shared what Waterbury Promise’s support has meant to him:

Congratulations Icaro! We are Promise Proud! 

Career Readiness Week Recap

Our 2026 Career Readiness Week was a tremendous success on all fronts thanks to the special village that is helping us build a talent pipeline of extraordinary future leaders. Our heartfelt thanks go out to:

• Our amazing partners at St. Mary’s Hospital and Thomaston Savings Bank for providing outstanding job shadow experiences for so many of our scholars.
• The 26 companies and organizations that joined us at our 3rd Annual Career and Internship Fair and spent quality time with Waterbury’s best and brightest!
• Companies like O&G Industries (and the wonderful Beth Dupont) who came ready to recruit top talent and offered scholars like Nijhon Foley, a senior at UCONN studying mechanical engineering, a paid internship for this summer. Way to go Ni!
• The gifted Lisa Carrozza from UConn who led critical career readiness workshops and prepared our scholars to beautifully engage with prospective employers.
• Kathy Taylor, Anthony Ireland and Todd Burton for sharing their stories and invaluable advice as part of our Career Speaker Panel.
• Webster Bank for their incredibly generous support of ALL of our career readiness programming.
• The Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board for partnering with us again on this year’s fair.
• The entire team at the Courtyard by Marriott for being fantastic hosts.
• Tina Pelletier of Uniquely Yours Photography for providing our scholars with professional headshots and capturing special networking and relationship-building moments that could be the springboard for exciting careers! 
• And last, but certainly not least, our talented scholars, who brought their A-game all week long and showcased how inquisitive, engaging and eager they are!

Career Readiness Week Photo Highlights 

Partnership Agreement Signed with the University of Bridgeport

From left to right: Allison Garris, Ed.D., UB’s Dean of Admissions and Kelonda Maull, Waterbury Promise’s Executive Director, at an MOU signing event.

Waterbury Promise recently welcomed the University of Bridgeport (UB) as its newest university partner. Beginning this fall, UB will offer accepted Waterbury Promise Scholars a renewable scholarship of up to $25,000 to help eliminate barriers by reducing the cost of a college education and expanding access to a UB degree.

“At UB, we believe that talent is everywhere, and opportunity should be too,” said Allison Garris, Ed.D., UB’s Dean of Admissions. “This partnership creates an affordable pathway to a UB education for students from Waterbury. We’re proud to welcome Waterbury Promise scholars and to support them as they build confident, career-ready futures.”



We’re delighted to add the University of Bridgeport to our growing list of university partners and look forward to working together to support our scholars on their path to college and career success! Welcome Purple Knights! 

Give Local is Coming!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Waterbury Promise is gearing up to participate in the Connecticut Community Foundation’s 14th annual Give Local campaign on April 21st and 22nd and we need your help to raise more than $30,000 during this exciting 36-hour online fundraising blitz. We are eternally grateful to LaBonne’s Markets for signing on as a matching sponsor to double the dollars we raise—and our impact! Watch for more details in the coming weeks. We hope you’ll add us to your Give Local shopping cart when the big day comes! 

Upcoming Events

Let's continue to work together to make a BIG impact for our scholars and the Waterbury community!

Contact Hedy Ayers, Director of Development and Community Engagement for more information at hedy.ayers@waterburypromise.org.

Thank you to our major and individual donors! Your generosity is changing the lives of Waterbury students every day!

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

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Established in late 2021 in collaboration with the City of Waterbury and Waterbury Public Schools, Waterbury Promise is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to building a generation of college graduates in Waterbury. Our mission is to increase college aspirations, reduce financial barriers and inspire every student toward post-secondary education and completion. The program’s comprehensive college success model provides a generous last-dollar scholarship as well as critical support services to help talented Waterbury students get to college, thrive there, persist through graduation and be career ready to help create a robust and diverse talent pipeline for the local economy.