Boston & Dallas, March 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- City Year, Inc., a national educational organization with a mission to advance student and school success, has joined forces with Paul Quinn College, the nation’s first Urban Work College. The partnership with Paul Quinn College represents a first-of-its-kind collaboration with an HBCU, making higher education more accessible and affordable and opening direct access to corporate internships for City Year AmeriCorps members, alums, and staff.
"To be in best service to our AmeriCorps members and alumni, it is critical to have HBCU partnerships, like this new partnership with Paul Quinn College, partnerships that create strategic pathways to opportunity for our Black and brown AmeriCorps members. This shows our BIPOC community our deep investment in them,” said Stephen Spaloss (Boston, ‘91), City Year executive. vice president and chief equity officer
As part of the partnership, City Year AmeriCorps members completing a year of service as student success coaches working with teachers in under-resourced public schools nationwide to provide social, emotional and academic support to students, will have the opportunity to attend Paul Quinn College and receive a direct pathway to its Corporate Work Program. In this program, students can receive up to four years of corporate work experience and up to $18,000 per year in scholarships.
“We are proud to be City Year’s first HBCU partner as we share a dedication to creating opportunities for diverse groups of individuals to thrive in America’s workforce,” said Dr. Michael J. Sorrell, President of Paul Quinn College. “City Year alums stand out as some of the most prepared and driven individuals, and we eagerly welcome them to our campus, classrooms, and culture as integral contributors to our vibrant academic community.”
Established in 2015, Paul Quinn’s Corporate Work Program provides students the opportunity to gain real-world work experience through corporate internships while limiting their reliance on student loans. Students can receive up to $18,000 per year in annual scholarships based on their internship placement and additional federal and City Year funds received.
Typically, a Paul Quinn student would spend the first year in an on-campus internship before starting in the Corporate Work Program in their second year. City Year members, alums and staff will have access to the Corporate Work Program during year one, giving them enhanced financial support from corporate partners and the chance to begin exploring career pathways and strengthen their leadership skills in their first semester.
City Year has a longstanding program that includes partnerships with more than 100 colleges and universities across the country. University partners offer a combination of benefits that can include exclusive scholarship funds, application fee waivers, and enrollment deferral should a City Year member choose to continue their service with City Year beyond one year.
This partnership brings together two organizations with a shared vision -- to remove systemic barriers to education and help those students furthest from opportunity realize their potential, prepare for leadership roles in their communities and make a difference in the world.
Watch this video from Dr. Lola Esmieu, Paul Quinn College Chief of Staff and a City Year alum, to learn more about the City Year and Paul Quinn partnership: https://library.cityyear.org/asset/6419e794-7660-41fb-ab41-b4c206652708/mp4/City-Year-x-PQC-Video.mp4
For more information on City Year’s University Partnerships: https://www.cityyear.org/alumni-life/career-resources/university-partnerships/
About City Year:
City Year is a trailblazing, youth-powered organization with a dual mission: expanding educational equity for students furthest from opportunity and developing diverse leaders through national service. Research shows the more time a student spends with a City Year AmeriCorps member serving as student success coach, the better the student outcomes—academically, socially, and emotionally. A public-private partnership, City Year is a proud member of AmeriCorps, operating in 29 U.S. cities with international affiliates in the U.K. and South Africa. Today, 37,000 alums continue to lead and serve where they live and work. Learn more about City Year’s six areas of impact: www.cityyear.org, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Paul Quinn College:
Paul Quinn College is a private, faith-based, four-year, liberal arts-inspired college that was founded in 1872, by a group of African Methodist Episcopal Church preachers in Austin, Texas. The school’s original purpose was to educate freed slaves and their offspring. Today, Paul Quinn proudly educates students of all races and socioeconomic classes under the banner of its institutional ethos, WE over Me. It is the first Urban Work College and only minority-serving, federally recognized work college in America. Paul Quinn is viewed as one of the most innovative colleges in America, one that continuously expands the boundaries of higher education and community advocacy in its quest to eradicate intergenerational poverty. For more information, visit www.paulquinn.edu.
Media Contact, Paul Quinn College: Anthea Danby, anthea@minervaco.com, 214-205-8062
Media Contact, City Year: Joe Zappala, joseph_zappala@cityyear.org, 607-339-1098
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