The Edwin S. ’51, M.Ed. ’54, and Margaret M. (Handfield) ’58, M.Ed. ’61, Titus Scholarship

Edwin S. ’51, M.Ed. ’54, and Margaret M. (Handfield) ’58, M.Ed. ’61, Titus graduated from Worcester State when it was known as Worcester State Teachers College. They both were the first in their families to earn a bachelor’s degree, and they spent their entire professional careers as educators, meeting as faculty members at Dix Street School in Worcester. The Edwin S. ’51, M.Ed. ’54, and Margaret M. (Handfield) ’58, M.Ed. ’61, Titus Scholarship was created in their name to honor their dedication to teaching, and to help students with a similar passion for teaching afford an education, especially if they are in the first generation of their family to attend college. “Worcester State helped form the shape of our lives and it is our hope that this contribution helps other public school students from the City of Worcester develop the skills they need to make a positive contribution to the community,” said Ed. Peg took a leave of absence to raise their family in Worcester. She volunteered at May Street School and then completed a M.Ed. at Worcester State. She later returned to the classroom as a librarian at Boylston Elementary, serving students for 20 years. Ed’s parents were Armenian immigrants to Worcester. He attended Worcester State on the G.I. Bill following service in the U.S. Army. He completed a M.Ed. at Worcester State in 1954 and joined the faculty of Forest Grove in Worcester in 1960, teaching for a total of 38 years. Ed played on the Lancer baseball teams of the late 1940s. But it was after graduation that he made the biggest impact on the athletics program. From 1978 to 2003, he spent countless hours on the campus tennis courts at Chandler Village as head coach of the men’s and women’s tennis teams, leading the program through many years when tennis facilities, or lack thereof, was a major hurdle. In recognition of his service, Ed was inducted into the Worcester State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007. He was a former member of the Worcester Tennis Club and taught tennis in Worcester’s adult education programs.