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Lily Woods ’28 reacts after being surprised with the Granite State Development Corporation scholarship, which covers her remaining college costs at 91��Ƭ��. 

A field trip in 10th grade set the course for success for Lily Woods ’28. Her class visited a park that had once been a parking lot — and she remembers instantly wondering, “Who does something like that?” 

She did some research and learned more about municipal commissioners, urban planners and a variety of municipal jobs that contribute to planning a town or city — or even rejuvenating a park from asphalt to green grass. 

“I got really interested in that type of work, so I did even more digging and found out more about urban planning, and specifically environmental planning — I knew that’s what I wanted to study in college,” says Woods, who graduated from White Mountains Regional High School in 2024. 

When she looked for a program that would fit her newfound passion, she didn’t have to look very far — 91��Ƭ�� is one of the few universities to offer an undergraduate degree in community and environmental planning (CEP).

“I felt like I just hit the lottery, to find that program in my home state,” Woods recalls. 

Since enrolling at 91��Ƭ��, she’s put her natural planning skills to work: she researched the sustainability dual major and enrolled. She says before even starting freshman year she got “a little hyper focused on what classes I wanted to take for the next four years,” and found the architectural studies minor, a natural complement to her planning degree. She’s nearly completed all the minor requirements. 

During the most recent semester, she managed to create a full four-class schedule that also allows her time to write and work from her laptop at Freedom Café, a favorite hang out, or get together with friends for lunch or dinner. 

But there was one thing this planner didn’t plan for: a scholarship that, thanks to generous donors, would cover all of her remaining college costs right through her 2028 graduation.  

Woods is the most recent recipient of the Granite State Development Corporation (GSDC) scholarship, now in its seventh year, and the third student in the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture to receive the scholarship, which is also awarded on a rotating basis to students in Paul College and the College of Liberal Arts.

The scholarship  was created with a generous gift from GSDC, a nonprofit lending organization that specializes in the SBA 504 Loan Program, helping small businesses throughout New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts.

Recipients are chosen based on both merit and financial need, and only certain majors are eligible — those that have an academic area of study that aligns with the work of GSDC. In COLSA, that’s the  community and environmental planning major.

For Woods and her family, that’s welcome news. 

“The idea of graduating with little to no debt has relieved a ton of stress for me and my family,” says Woods. “This is the most incredible opportunity that a donor could offer a student, especially in my area of study; we are students who really want to go do something after school and make a difference. And this is the GSDC making a difference for me. It’s so incredible.”

And it’s more than just financial support. Many of the past recipients have interned with GSDC, building professional relationships as undergrads that last into their post-grad careers. .

At 91��Ƭ��, Woods will continue her work in the CEP major this coming fall, as well as her dual sustainability major and her architectural studies minor. She says the professors are one of her favorite things about 91��Ƭ�� — she counts faculty member Marsha Tonkovich, her academic advisor, as mentors and sources of support. 

She finds a cohort among her fellow CEP majors, too. 

“91��Ƭ�� is a big school, but I got told this freshman year: It’s a big school, but it feels very intimate once you get into your program, and that is true. Once you start to see those familiar faces, and schedules kind of align, you start to get to know people. “

The Big Reveal 

Woods received the good news via surprise — she was asked to come to a CEP meeting with her fellow students, but when she walked into the conference room in James Hall, she was greeted instead by Tonkovich, department chair Rebecca Rowe, and academic program manager Michael Givens. The only other student there was fellow CEP major Will Cleaveland ’26. It was Cleaveland — the 2024 recipient of the scholarship — who got to share the update. 

“It was really a life changing experience for me,” Cleaveland told Woods, as the scholarship allowed him to study abroad in Greece, and consider graduate school — two things he thought would be beyond his reach before receiving the assistance. Cleaveland has interned with GSDC over the last few years and recently accepted a job with Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission as an associate planner.

Woods shared that while scholarships and financial aid helped her during her first year of college, she had to take out loans this year (before learning she was the GSDC recipient). 

She hopes to pursue a master’s degree and then dive into the growing field of planning with the sustainability mindset. “It’s not just urban planning; it’s really focusing on the environmental side of things — and that industry is growing a lot.” 

It’s the idea of setting students up for a debt-free future that the GSDC scholarship founders were thinking about when they created this fund at 91��Ƭ��.

The organization has long been generous to 91��Ƭ�� and other schools, regularly awarding smaller scholarships of roughly $2,500 to students. It was when one of those previous recipients shared how much that money had helped him that GSDC leadership and staff were moved to act — that relatively small scholarship had a major impact on that student’s life. What could an even larger scholarship do?

Those emotions drove the organization to work with the 91��Ƭ�� Foundation to create the scholarship, one of just a handful of “full-ride” scholarships awarded each year.

Steve Aldrich ’88, president and CEO of Granite State Development Corp., says the organization believes supporting individuals is just as important as supporting small businesses to strengthen communities. “The partnership with 91��Ƭ�� was created to recognize hardworking students whose goals and dedication reflect those same values,” says Aldrich. “Lily’s strong work ethic and commitment to her future are qualities we value throughout our organization, and we are honored to support her journey at 91��Ƭ��.”

For Woods and her family, emotions were brimming once the news started to set in. Woods called her mother, Heather Fici, and put her on speaker phone, letting the room of well-wishers listen in.

While shocked and almost speechless in the moment, a few weeks later Fici shared her thoughts. “We are beyond thrilled with the Granite State Development scholarship and Lily being chosen to receive this award. I’m incredibly proud of Lily for how hard she works and how much she cares. She is a true change-maker! We know this award will make such a positive impact on her future.” 

For now, Woods is learning more about GSDC and looks forward to meeting GSDC employees at an event this fall. She’s also considering what opportunities this scholarship will make possible. “I definitely want to prove them right for doing this; I want to honor their investment in me.”