Awards & Recognition

Three local students – one Springfield Housing Authority resident and the other two sons of an SHA employee — have won scholarships for higher learning from the Massachusetts branch of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials.

The $5,000 scholarships for the upcoming academic year have been awarded to Darryl Green, an SHA resident, and brothers Cory and Eliott Thompson, whose father is a foreman at SHA. The three will be recognized at a September luncheon hosted by the association.

Twin brothers Cory and Eliott Thompson are each recipients of a 2021 MassNAHRO scholarship.

SHA Executive Director Denise R. Jordan congratulated the three men, wishing them the best as they move forward in their lives.

“This is such great news for Darryl Green, who is a great student and learner, and for Cory and Eliott Thompson, who are starting a new chapter of their lives,” Jordan said.

Green is a non-traditional student at Westfield State University, studying to be a social worker. A resident at SHA’s Patrick Harrigan Apartments, this is his second MassNAHRO scholarship.

The Thompson brothers, who are twins, are graduating this spring at Chicopee Comprehensive High School. Both are excited about heading to college, and grateful for the funds which will help them to get started.

Their parents are David and Lisa Thompson.

Cory Thomspon will attend the University of Massachusetts in September, with a major in computer science.

“Ultimately, I want to be a video game programmer or developer, as video games have been a large part of my life, and I would love to be able to provide something to the next generation that could give them what I was able to have,” Cory said.

He added that he is happy to have the scholarship, which will offset the cost of his higher learning.

MassNAHRO scholarship recipients Cory and Eliott Thompson with their father David.

“This scholarship means very much to me, as it will help support me through a piece of my college journey, and let me come out of it with less stress and debt in four years,” he said.

His brother Eliott is also heading off to UMass.

Like his twin, Eliott will also major in computer science, and with similar goals.

“My career goals are to enter into a programming field for either video games or robotics, Eliott said.

“I feel that in either of these fields I could make a substantial impact on the world. With video games, I could allow for people worldwide to take a break from the daily stress of life and immerse themselves in a whole other world within the games. With robotics, I could help to advance the technology in order to aid in the military, with the defense of our country, or even in high danger situations, such as bomb defusal, where a person’s life would be in danger should they be the one defusing rather than a robot,” he added.

This is the second MassNAHRO scholarship for SHA resident Darryl Green.

To Eliott, the scholarship is a culmination of hard work throughout his years as a student.

“This scholarship means a lot to me. It is a part of the materialization of my hard work throughout my high school career, and the effort that I put in on a daily basis. It is the culmination of the drive to do better and improve that my twin brother Cory and I have instilled in each other over the course of our academic careers,” Eliott said.

Their parents, David and Lisa, said in a joint statement, “We are very proud of our boys and all of their accomplishments. We feel very good about what a bright future they have ahead of themselves. They have accepted and conquered every challenge that has come their way and then there’s the fact that they really like school.

“We can’t believe how fast the years have gone by.”

Eliott and Cory Thompson.

Of the scholarship, they added, “Hopefully this will give notice to others who don’t know about this scholarship. This is a wonderful blessing to families applying for college realizing what an enormous expense college can be. Thanks to SHA and thanks to MassNAHRO.”

Jennifer Polito, Director of Professional Development and Finance at MassNAHRO, congratulated the scholarship recipients.

She said the MassNAHRO Past President’s Scholarship fund gave out $40,000 this year to 14 students. It’s a one-time payment, however, they can apply up to twice in a four-year period.

Residents, employees and direct family of an employee and/or the commissioner are eligible.