nothin “Promise” Chief Found Her Own Path | New Haven Independent

Promise” Chief Found Her Own Path

Paul Bass Photo

If Patricia Melton wants to convince New Haveners that they can make it to college and thrive despite odds, she has a compelling story to prove it — her own.

Melton (pictured) has run New Haven Promise, the Yale and Community Foundation-backed program guaranteeing in-state scholarships to city public school students who maintain a B average or higher, since 2012.

On Tuesday she came into the WNHH radio show to discuss Promise’s progress, on the Dateline New Haven” program.

She also talked about her own road to college. One of eight siblings, Melton grew up in Cleveland with an absent father; she was 12 when her mother died in a car accident. Melton, who was subsequently raised by her sister, researched different prep schools where talented kids could earn scholarships through a program called A Better Chance. Through drive, focus, hard work, and smarts, she made her way to Massachusetts, then to Yale, where she was a track star (and U.S. Olympic finalist). After her 1983 graduation, she embarked on a career helping other first-generation aspiring collegians follow in her path, eventually returning to New Haven to assume the mantle of Promise.”

Click on or download the above sound file to hear her full interview; her personal story begins at 33:54. (Before that we discussed Promise itself.)

Also on WNHH radio Tuesday, on Northern Remedy,” Bob Gorry of the New Haven Improvisers Collective joined host Brian Slattery. To listen to the full episode, click on or download the above audio.

On This Day in New Haven History,” the grim news from 1942 continues for hosts Allan Appel and Jason Bischoff-Wurstle. 73 years ago, there was blackout practice today throughout New Haven so the town could dim all lights and frustrate an attack of enemy airplanes that was very much feared in the wake of Pearl Harbor. A half dozen drivers were publicly shamed, their names and addresses writ large in today’s newspaper, because they were caught driving without their headlights covered. To listen to the full episode, click on or download the above audio. 

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