CMU, Repair the World partner on aid initiative

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Participants in a Jewishbased community-service project will be eligible for financial and other aid in enrolling in graduate studies in public policy and related fields at Carnegie Mellon University.

The organization Repair the World and CMU’s H. John Heinz III College of Information Systems and Public Policy recently announced the initiative. The college offers numerous master’s and doctoral degree programs in policy and information-related fields.

Repair the World, founded in 2009, recruits workers for typically yearlong programs working in education and food justice in Pittsburgh as well as Baltimore, Detroit, Philadelphia and New York City.

The partnership is the latest in a series between the college and more than 40 professional-development and community-service organizations such as AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps and faith-based Lut h e r a n and Catholic groups.

Under the latest partnership, up to 10 fellows and alums of Repair the World per year will be eligible for merit-based and other financial aid, waived application fees and flexible admissions schedules.

“It’s been a fantastic way for us to be able to reach out to young people who are interested in serving the greater good,” said David Eber, director of admissions at the Heinz College. “They’ve demonstrated that commitment to public service through their work through these types of organizations. We’re looking for individuals that are highly motivated and committed to that goal.”

The financial aid will help students who have earned subsistence stipends while at such service organizations.

It will also reduce their potential student-loan debt upon graduating, making it more feasible for them to continue in nonprofit work, he said.

The partnership offers the chance to study “in a worldleading and dynamic academic environment,” said Sam Kuttner, fellowship director of Repair the World.