When I look back to my time growing up in Utica, I am often taken aback by the distance between my reality and perspective then and now. What bridged that distance, and continues to propel me forward and upward, is the State University of New York’s Educational Opportunity Program, or EOP, which provides the money and wrap-around services under-resourced SUNY students need to make seeking a degree possible.
Investing in and expanding EOP prepares more college graduates to succeed, provides upward mobility for young people in often-underserved communities, and changes lives — 88,000 of them since the program began in 1967. Funding for EOP is much more than just a line item as state lawmakers and the governor negotiate a budget ahead of the April 1 deadline. It’s transformative support that must be expanded in the final spending plan to reach more people like me.
I am the fourth of six siblings, raised by a hard-working mother living in a community where grinding labor is the norm and cash is in short supply. I was a Boy Scout, played drums in the band, participated in Junior ROTC — and thought very little about college.
My three older siblings never sought a degree, nor did my parents, nor had most adults I knew. Statistics and anecdotes both show that’s often the case with EOP participants. The 88,000 EOP graduates have two things in common: On paper, they were neither prepared academically nor able financially to attend the colleges where they matriculated.
That makes it doubly extraordinary that EOP is so successful that on many SUNY campuses with EOP, the graduation rate for the program is higher than the graduation rate for the college. Approximately 74% of all EOP students at four-year SUNY schools complete a bachelor’s program within six years.
What makes EOP so successful are the services that help students realize their full potential: Real, non-optional tutoring. Life skills bestowed, whether we wanted them or not. Constant advisement and mentorship. A community of like-minded strivers overcoming challenges together.
Those things, and my own hard work, carried me to an EOP-fueled associate degree in General Studies from Fulton-Montgomery Community College.
And to an EOP-fueled bachelor’s degree in Communications from SUNY Polytechnic Institute.
And to my currently seeking, at age 24, an EOP-fueled master’s degree in Communications from the University at Albany.
EOP graduates populate every place of power in this state. They are doctors. They are teachers. They are attorneys. They are elected officials, police officers and military officers. EOP graduates, male and female, come in every color and ethnicity, every religion and culture, and from every corner, nook, and cranny of the state. What’s more, they often return to hometowns to better the communities that sorely need their services.
The program is so purposeful, powerful and perfectly rooted in best practices, it’s hard to believe it faces funding challenges. But like clockwork, we must fight for proper resources every year.
As the governor, Assembly, and state Senate work to pass a budget, they must coalesce around additional resources for EOP — not just restoring cuts, but making a greater investment in our students’ futures. Additional funding will allow SUNY to serve more students and provide them more financial aid.
My three older siblings were never properly introduced to EOP, and they did not attend college. My two younger siblings saw EOP work for me, and both are enrolled in college today.
That’s another layer of the transformative power of EOP: Upward mobility not just for individuals, but families.
And that’s why I beg of our elected officials not to let funding be cut. Grow it instead. Don’t let the numbers it serves shrink. Expand it. There are 88,000 college graduates who needed EOP, and there are so many, many more where we’ve come from.
Utica native Giovanni Harvey, 24, is a graduate student at the University at Albany and chief of staff of the SUNY Student Assembly. He earned his bachelor’s degree from SUNY Polytechnic Institute and an associate degree from Fulton-Montgomery Community College. SUNY’s Educational Opportunity Program has provided Harvey with support throughout college.
Full funding for SUNY EOP would be transformative investment for NYers
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28.03.2024
When I look back to my time growing up in Utica, I am often taken aback by the distance between my reality and perspective then and now. What bridged that distance, and continues to propel me forward and upward, is the State University of New York’s Educational Opportunity Program, or EOP, which provides the money and wrap-around services under-resourced SUNY students need to make seeking a degree possible.
Investing in and expanding EOP prepares more college graduates to succeed, provides upward mobility for young people in often-underserved communities, and changes lives — 88,000 of them since the program began in 1967. Funding for EOP is much more than just a line item as state lawmakers and the governor negotiate a budget ahead of the April 1 deadline. It’s transformative support that must be expanded in the final spending plan to reach more people like me.
I am the fourth of six siblings, raised by a hard-working mother living in a community where grinding labor is the norm and cash is in short supply. I was a Boy Scout, played drums in the band,........
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