J. Wess Gaither II grew up surrounded by obstacles to getting an advanced education. He worked 30 hours a week while in high school, his father was imprisoned twice, and his family went through a period of homelessness. A first-generation college student, the young African American struggled with asthma, hypertension, and stress, becoming unable to keep his grades up.

“No one was there to push me forward only backwards,” he said. Yet, a positive role model, Dr. Dwight Mullen of his undergraduate institution of UNC Asheville, helped him to believe in himself. “As I began to study, I began to understand there was no innate reason a black student couldn’t be as academically successful as a white student. I decided to become a serious student.”

Gaither persevered, and today, not only is he earning a master’s degree at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, but he is also giving back to the Triad community as an intern studying homelessness for the City of Winston-Salem, of which black males disporportionately comprise a portion. Gaither is one of three students currently benefiting from a $90,000 Community Development Work Study Program (CDWSP) grant from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. The other HUD recipients are Al Toe of Winston-Salem and Richard Baker of Durham.

UNCG’s Masters of Public Affairs Program, housed in the Department of Political Science, was awarded the competitive grant to help low-income and minority students pay for advanced educations in community planning and development through participation in a work study program.

The HUD CDWSP grant covers work study opportunities with Triad agencies, books, tuition and administrative costs. The students complete 20-hour-a-week internships with three agencies over a two-year period. Organizations that have volunteered as their community partners include: Action Greensboro, the Macedonia Family Regional Center, Piedmont Triad Partnership, High Point Department of Community Development and Housing, and Winston-Salem Housing and Neighborhood Development, among others.

Applications for the HUD grants are very competitive. Of 19 awards granted nationally, UNCG was the only university in North Carolina to receive an award. Past winners have included Chapel Hill, Duke and East Carolina.

“Our new MPA concentration in community and economic development put UNCG in a good position,” Klase said. “This is a very positive endorsement of our new curriculum and solidifies the effort we have been building over the last several years, while also providing outreach in a vital area.”

The new degree concentration was launched in the fall and requires the completion of 15 semester hours as a part of the MPA program curriculum. Course work is interdisciplinary, allowing students to take classes from both the Geography and Political Science departments.

Al Toe is starting his first year as a graduate student at UNCG.

“As an undergrad, I studied business administration. However, by the end of year I decided I wanted to utilize my degree to in a positive, non-competitive environment. So I decided working for an economic/community development organization would give me a chance to give back to the community in a broad economic sense.”

Toe is now working with Downtown Greensboro Inc., a non-profit organization that specializes in the economic development and revitalization of downtown Greensboro, along with many other facets. As a HUD fellow, he is attaining the practical experience needed to supplement his curriculum studies.

Toe’s duties include providing research analysis for the organization, including assessing the number of residential units of downtown, investigating the potential use of new market tax credits in development, and evaluating the property values of building within the central business district of Greensboro.

“As a nonprofit organization, having a graduate intern provides a quality resource that we couldn’t otherwise afford,” said April Hutchinson, vice president of operations for Downtown Greensboro, Inc.

Richard Baker shares his fellow classmates’ desire to follow a meaningful career. He is interning with the City of Greensboro researching the sustainability for a community center and working with the homeless. After completing an undergraduate degree in finance, Baker decided to pursue community development because he wanted to “help poor people and not just shareholders. I feel it’s my duty to give back to the community.”

For more information about the HUD interns, contact Dr. Ken A. Klase (kaklase@uncg.edu) in the Political Science Department at (336) 256-0510.