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AFSCME Toolkit for Scholars

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Kimberly Berls "couldn't believe it when I opened the letter" informing her that she had won AFSCME's prestigious Jerry Clark Scholarship. She will receive $10,000 per year for both her junior and senior years and the opportunity to intern with AFSCME's Political Action Department.

A sophomore at Ohio's Kent State University, Berls was working 70-to-80 hours a week to earn money for school. With the scholarship, she could afford to quit one of her three summer jobs.

Her college focus has been on International Relations. An exchange trip to Mexico at age 15 led to an interest in world politics.

"It was during the NAFTA debates, and I was amazed to see the difference in the way the Mexicans lived — the poverty," said Berls. In addition to political change, she values union power. "I can see how unions helped my family a lot," she says. The daughter of Ohio Local 3934 (Council 8) member Leslie Lynn Berls, she remembers marching at the statehouse when she was six. "I didn't really know what the issues were, but it made a big impression on me."


— Susan Ellen Holleran

 

AFSCME SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS

In addition to the Jerry Clark Scholarship, AFSCME awards a number of other scholarships each year. This is a partial list.

AFSCME Family Scholarship Program

Ten scholarships of $2,000 each — renewable each year for a maximum of four years — are awarded annually. Winners are selected from applicants meeting the following eligibility requirements:

  • Applicant must be a high school senior graduating in the Spring of 2001 planning to enroll in a full-time, four-year degree program at any accredited college or university.
  • Applicant must be the daughter or son of an AFSCME member, or have an AFSCME member as legal guardian.


Applications for the Jerry Clark and AFSCME Family Scholarships are available at AFSCME's Education Department. For copies, call (202) 429-1250, write them at 1625 L St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036-5687, or e-mail: education@afscme.org. You can also download an application from AFSCME's Web site. The AFSCME Family Scholarship deadline is Dec. 31, 2000. For the Clark Scholarship, it's July 1, 2001.

Jerry Wurf Scholarships

As part of a program commemorating his life and contributions, the Jerry Wurf Memorial Fund provides two scholarships each year for the six-week Harvard Trade Union Program. The 2001 session will be held Jan. 8 through Feb. 16, on the Harvard campus in Cambridge, Mass. Applicants should be full-time AFSCME council or local union staff.

The fund covers expenses and lost time for participants selected by the university. This includes course tuition, housing at Harvard, a $1,500 allowance for meals and books and round-trip transportation to Cambridge.

For an application, call the Harvard Trade Union Program at (617) 495-9265, write them at 1350 Massachusetts Ave., Room 731, Cambridge, Mass. 02138, or e-mail: htup@harvarda.harvard.edu. Nov. 1, 2000 is the deadline.

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