Jerry Clark: In Living Memory
By Janet Rivera
For more than a decade, the scholarship that bears his name has been awarding money and internships to AFSCME children and grandchildren.
How great an impact does a scholarship have on the student who receives it? Does it change a checkbook balance, a view of the world, even an entire life?
To put those and related questions in an AFSCME context, Public Employee recently questioned past winners of the union’s Jerry Clark Scholarship. One thing is certain: The winners’ subsequent accomplishments and their commitment to the political process not only honors the memory of Jerry Clark — the architect of AFSCME’s renowned political action program — but also inspires confidence in the younger generation of the AFSCME family.
Although the names of the interviewees were chosen at random, the trails they have blazed have left nothing to chance. Kimberly Berls, Matthew Mercado, Brian Bogart, Andrew Lyons, Chad Villella, Lisa Lim… They are some of the past winners of the annual Clark scholarship. Each has proved that he or she has taken full advantage of the opportunities afforded by AFSCME’s contribution to his or her college education.
In honor of Jerry Clark, who for two decades served as the director of the International’s Political Action Department, AFSCME since 1990 has awarded $10,000 annually for a political science major’s junior and senior years of study. In addition, the scholarship winners have an opportunity to intern at the International union headquarters in the Political Action Department.
Any political science major in his/her sophomore year of study with a 3.0 grade point average or better who is enrolled in a full-time four-year degree program in any accredited college or university, and whose parent, legal guardian or financially responsible grandparent is an AFSCME member is eligible for the scholarship. All students who apply by the deadline — July 1 of each year — and who meet the minimum requirements are eligible. The name of each qualified student is then placed in a blank, sealed envelope and placed in a box, and the winner is selected by lottery at a special meeting of the AFSCME Scholarship Committee.
Once awarded, the scholarship is then renewed for the student’s senior year of study, provided he or she remains enrolled in a full-time course of study as a political science major.
STUDY TIME. For Kimberly Berls, the 2000 Clark scholarship recipient and daughter of Leslie L. Berls (Council 8’s Local 3934 in Delaware, Ohio), having her name selected from a drawing of applications meant that she could take a deep breath and focus on her studies, rather than work. "I didn’t believe it at first. I was working 80 hours a week at the time, at three different jobs to make tuition payments to Kent State Univer-sity for the coming fall. I was short on making the tuition payments, so it was perfect timing."
Berls has a keen interest in not only politics but also international affairs. Just 19 years old, she has already visited 15 countries and lived in three. She recently returned from Spain, where she studied for a year — a chance of a lifetime made possible by AFSCME’s largest scholarship program.
"It made an amazing difference," Berls says. "Since I don’t have to worry about making tuition payments, I can do things I’ve always wanted to do, including studying abroad. I have time to use my abilities to better society now."
Like Berls, Brian Bogart, the 1995 Jerry Clark Scholarship winner, used Clark funds that remained after college expenses were covered to travel abroad — a substantial learning experience. Bogart, son of Jane Bogart — a member of New York’s Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)/AFSCME Local 1000 — is currently studying in Brussels, Belgium, as he pursues a master’s in international relations from the Univer-sity of Kent at Canterbury. "The Clark funding allowed me to travel and study in Africa, Central America and Europe. And that increased my motivation and provided irreplaceable knowledge."
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE. A secondary, but highly valuable, component of the Clark scholarship is the opportunity to intern at AFSCME’s Washington, D.C., headquarters, an experience of which most of the winners take advantage. Chad Villella, the 1997 winner and son of Ken Villella, Local 2113 (Council 85), says that learning the "ins and outs of the political system was the best way to spend a college summer vacation." Villella, a 1999 graduate of Mercy College in Erie, Pa., is gearing up to enter law school in the Washington, D.C., area.
For Matthew Mercado, whose mother, Claudia, is a member of CSEA, the internship was "what dreams are made of. It was incredible. AFSCME treated me great. Not only did I get to work on interesting projects — including a compilation of state election policies — I was also able to go to the International’s 1994 Convention and see Al Gore, Colin Powell and former Texas Governor Ann Richards." Mercado, the 1993 Jerry Clark Scholarship recipient, now works in phone system installations for Bell South in Fort Lauderdale.
Lisa Lim, who received the 1999 scholarship award, also gave the International’s internship program high marks: "I learned a great deal about how to organize and run a political campaign. I also had the opportunity to work with and learn from a number of great people in the Political Action Department at AFSCME." For Lim, the daughter of Danilo Lim, a member of Local 1902/Metropolitan Water District in Los Angeles, the knowledge gained during the internship will pay off as she continues pursuing her strong interest in international and comparative politics, and foreign affairs — taking her to Germany, Austria, England and Harvard University to study.
MINORITY RULES. Lim’s interests — and those of all other Clark scholarship applicants and winners — contrast sharply with statistics showing that young Americans aren’t very interested in politics. According to American Demographics magazine, in 1972 (the first time 18-year-olds could vote), 50 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds cast ballots. During the last Presidential election, that number plunged to 32 percent. The apathy among young Americans is generally attributed to two things: the belief that their voice is not heard and a distrust of politicians.
Just as the interest in politics displayed by Clark scholarship applicants may not be reflective of their peers, the younger generation’s feeling of powerlessness is not something the Clark winners share. All of the winners interviewed conveyed a conviction that they can "make a difference." They share other important traits, including motivation, intellectual curiosity and perseverance.
FAMILY TIES. The commonality of personality traits is remarkable considering that they were selected for their scholarships by the "luck of the draw." Or do the winners have more in common than is readily apparent? A major in political science, a grade point average of at least 3.0, and a parent or grandparent who is an AFSCME member are required to be eligible to compete for the scholarship. Their leadership skills and a strong interest in the world in which they live may very well be attributable to the "AFSCME family connection."
It’s a connection that the 1996 scholarship winner Andrew Lyons explains this way: "I think it was natural for me to be interested in politics and labor because it was always a part of the conversation at the dinner table. I remember at a very young age stuffing envelopes at the Labor Fed and putting together yard signs for rallies." The interest in politics and labor has flourished. Lyons, son of Wisconsin Council 40 Exec. Director Bob Lyons, is now a research specialist for the California Faculty Association, which represents 20,000 California State University workers at 23 campuses. Though happy and fulfilled in California, he hopes his future will include returning to his roots — Wisconsin and AFSCME.
Clearly, whatever paths they pursue and wherever their future endeavors take them, the prospects of the Jerry Clark Scholarship winners are indeed bright. In memoriam, Jerry Clark continues to spark not only an interest in the political process, but also in America’s future leaders.
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AFSCME offers directly three other major scholarships. Each year, the AFSCME Family Scholarship provides 10 $2,000 awards toward a degree at an accredited college or university. The Joey Parisi Memorial Scholarship covers the cost of one or two years’ participation in the bachelor’s degree program at the National Labor College of the George Meany Center for Labor Studies. AFSCME members and their dependents are eligible for the AFSCME Advantage/Union Plus Scholarship, which provides awards ranging from $500 to $4,000.
The Envelope, Please: This Year’s Winner Is...
Tracy Lynn Miller, a junior at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. She is the daughter of a New York CSEA/Local 1000 member, Linda M. Brown, a senior typist at the Cattaraugus County Health Department. Miller is fasci-nated with politics, says her mother, and loves studying the history of our country. The scholarship will provide $10,000 for Miller’s junior and senior years of study, plus the opportunity to intern at the International’s Political Action Department during the summer.
