Building a Generation of College Graduates and

Transforming Our Community

Growing Connecticut's Next

Generation Workforce

While students across the state left campus to relax during spring break week, many of our scholars were hard at work updating their resumes, honing their interviewing skills, and engaging with prospective employers from across the region.

Waterbury Promise’s Career Readiness Week kicked off on March 17^th and offered fantastic job shadow days at Ion Bank and Thomaston Savings Bank, critical skill-building workshops, and a fabulous Job and Internship Fair—presented in partnership with the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board and sponsored by Webster Bank.

More than 30 businesses and community organizations joined us at the Courtyard Marriott Downtown Waterbury, and had the opportunity to engage with our talented scholars about career pathways, collected resumes for open positions, and learned firsthand how terrific our scholars are. We are beyond grateful to everyone who helped make the week a huge success!

THANK YOU!

Andrew Lattimer (CLA), Dr. Lisa Roy (Saint Mary’s Hospital) and Dr. Joseph Johnson (Waterbury Public Schools) shared their career journeys and offered invaluable advice as part of our Career Speaker Panel after the fair.

Scholars sat for professional headshots with Tina Petta-Pelletier of Uniquely Yours Photography, LLC.

Despite the focus on career readiness, scholars were treated to a handful of fun activities (a show at the Palace Theater, a road trip to Dave & Buster’s and a reception at the Courtyard) to give them a chance to bond with each other and take a much-needed break so they are ready to finish the semester off strong!

Scholar Selected for Law Internship at Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey

Ashley Santana, a freshman at UConn-Waterbury studying psychology with plans to add a pre-law concentration, has been hired by our community partner Carmody Torrance Sandak and Hennessey as the firm’s DEI Summer Intern! Congratulations, Ashley, on securing this highly-competitive position.

Looking to hire an intern this summer or have job openings for bright, hardworking college students?

Contact Noelia Alicea in our office at Noelia.alicea@waterburypromise.org so she can spread the word to our scholars!

We are so proud of Ashley and are grateful to our partners at Carmody for sharing this incredible opportunity with us!

Local Scholar Makes Global Impact

Alyssa Jhingree, a sophomore at Yale University, secured an incredible government internship during spring break. Alyssa served as a Diplomatic Delegate and Policy Analyst for Guyana’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, and advanced the country’s strategic priorities in global governance, international trade, and sustainable development. Her connection to Guyana is rooted in her heritage, as both of her parents are originally from there.

Alyssa’s work focused on policy research and advocacy related to human rights, economic inequality, and international cooperation. For her contributions, Alyssa was awarded the United Nations Diplomacy Excellence Award in Geneva, Switzerland.

We are thrilled to see our scholars spreading their wings, opening themselves up to life-changing opportunities and seeing the world. Way to go Alyssa!

Additional Career Week Photos

Give Local 2025 Is Coming!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Waterbury Promise is gearing up to participate in the Connecticut Community Foundation’s 13^th annual Give Local campaign and we need your help to raise more than $20,000 during this exciting 36-hour online fundraising blitz. As we GROW to serve more than 800 scholars by this July and increase our annual last-dollar scholarship awards to $5,000 per scholar per year (THAT’S $20,000 EACH), we need this to be our most successful Give Local yet!

We are beyond grateful to B&Z Management for agreeing to be a matching sponsor for the third year in a row and are delighted that Marion Manufacturing has signed on to help us 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!

Here's to continuing to work together to make 2025 a spectacular year of impact and community!

DONATE TODAY

PARTNER WITH US

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

Thank You to our Funders &

Community Partners!

Founding Champions

Community Partners

Partner Colleges and Universities

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

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.

Visit us at www.waterburypromise.org