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Porter scholarships propel NYSUT members December 4, 2002 Money was tight a decade ago, when Marian "Jackie" Ervolina was going for her undergraduate degree. Even though secretaries needed college credits to keep their jobs, the New York City Board of Education offered no tuition reimbursement then. Ervolina heard about a new scholarship offered by her national union, the American Federation of Teachers. "It was $1,000 - that was a lot back then," recalled Ervolina, the first member of the United Federation of Teachers and her statewide federation, New York State United Teachers, to receive a Robert G. Porter scholarship. The scholarship was established in memory of Porter, AFT secretary-treasurer from 1963 to 1991. The $1,000 grants are for members to pursue courses in labor relations, education, public service or health care. Some scholarships go to the children of AFT members for college aid. Besides the money, "what meant more to me was the recognition that my education meant something," said Ervolina. She now chairs the 3,500-member secretarial chapter of the UFT. Others who have received Porter scholarships include Martha Acker of the Center Moriches Paraprofessionals Association on Long Island and Steve Zahurak of the Guilderland Teachers Association in Albany County. The Porter scholarship bolstered Acker in a weak moment. "Getting my (associate's) degree has been a dream for years, but back in 1997, I was seriously thinking about giving it up," said Acker, now working toward a bachelor's degree at St. Joseph's University. Zahurak used his grant to research a coal-mining company town in Pennsylvania. Now retired from K-12 teaching, he uses the materials, such as work records, a miner's lunch pail and carbide lamp, a civics textbook from the 1920s and audio tapes of men discussing forming the United Mine Workers local for a labor history course at the collegiate level. This year Joan Sommermeyer, a health room paraprofessional with the Half Hollow Hills TA on Long Island, was one of 22 people chosen from nearly 700 applications for a Porter scholarship. She attends Cornell University's extension program offered on Long Island. Her desire to take college courses was sparked at a NYSUT leadership institute in Ithaca - "being surrounded by people who care about civil rights and the social justice concerns." For more on the Porter scholarships, visit www.aft.org/scholarships. - Betsy Sandberg |
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