EOP Summer Academy Gives Incoming Students Preview of College Life, What to Expect
Nearly 100 incoming Educational Opportunity Program students are getting a head start to college life through the four-week EOP Summer Academy at SUNY Plattsburgh.
The academy gives students the chance to take classes, experience living in a residence hall, eat in a dining hall and forge friendships ahead of the start of the academic year Aug. 26.
The EOP program provides academic support and financial aid to underserved, low-income students from across the state.
“What that could mean is, academically, students don’t necessarily have all the tools in their tool belt to be the strongest students because of circumstances that are beyond their control,” said EOP Director Cassie Joseph.
This year’s cohort of 89 has five North Country students and 66 from New York City. The rest will join the first-year Cardinal class from the Capital District and other hometowns across the state.
Support through Advising
During the academy’s four weeks, students meet with their assigned EOP adviser at least three times, allowing the adviser the chance to get to know the students and learn their goals and academic concerns so they can best support them going forward, Joseph said.
During their meetings, advisers also finalize students’ fall class schedules, review their financial aid and semester bill, and answer questions, she said.
SUNY Plattsburgh covers the cost of EOP Summer Academy, so it is free for students, Joseph said.
‘Everybody Here is So Welcoming’
Joseph said the friendships that form at Summer Academy often follow students throughout their college careers.
“A lot of times students come in stressed and worried about Summer Academy, but they leave feeling confident and kind of sad that they have to go, not because they don’t miss home, but they’ve created a home here too, a sense of independence even though it’s restrictive in a lot more ways than the fall would be” because of a structured schedule, Joseph said.
“They grow to really confide in one another and form relationships with their peers,” she said.
Mariel Torres, a childhood education major from the Bronx, said she quickly connected with her fellow students when Summer Academy started in early July.
“My favorite thing has been getting to know people. The staff here are really, really nice,” Torres said. “Everybody here is so welcoming.”
Bronx native Bryan Thomas said he also was quick to build trusting relationships with other EOP students.
“I was told that here I would find ‘day ones,’ the people who would be there for me until the day I leave (college) and even further beyond. And so, I’m actually meeting those people now. I definitely feel it, I see it, and it’s just a good experience because I know I can trust them even though I’ve only known them for about a month,” Thomas said.
Acclimating to the University Environment
Among the benefits of the mandatory summer program are that students take classes for credit, meet daily with a tutor, build positive study habits, live in first-year housing in Whiteface Hall and eat in Clinton Dining Hall, Joseph said.
All these things help them acclimate to the university environment before the fall semester starts, she said.
Math and English classes serve to assess students’ skill level so they can be placed in the appropriate class section and be successful their first year, Joseph said.
For their general education class this summer, students could choose from sociology, psychology, public speaking or American Sign Language.
‘Fun Weekend Trips’
During their free time, students can explore the surrounding area with their resident assistants. They might visit local businesses, get milkshakes at Stewarts Shops or get a haircut at a local barbershop, Joseph said. The point is to “just get them used to the broader Plattsburgh area beyond campus so they know how to navigate the community in a less scary way as opposed to the fall,” she said.
On the weekends, students enjoy activities like a visit to AuSable Point beach, a water game day with a Slip ‘n’ Slide, water balloons and a food truck, and their choice of a hike, nature walk or another beach day.
“I loved going to the beach,” Torres said. “It was so much fun.”
Attending College ‘Because of EOP’
Students will encounter various challenges as they adjust to college life.
Jason Ball, a business administration major from Saratoga Springs, said transitioning from working to going to school will be the biggest challenge for him as a new college student.
After graduating from high school, he said he worked full time for six months as an autobody technician.
In that time, he learned he didn’t want to work in a career that seemed to age his older colleagues beyond their years, Ball said.
“I had always been told that I had never (reached) up to my full potential, and I hated that idea,” he said. “My main perspective of why I switched was if I could work five days a week for 12 hours, I could put that effort in an (academic) book.”
Ball said he’s attending college because of EOP.
Now he said he’s going to get the education he needs for a future that better aligns with his goals.
“I have just always felt that business is my calling.”
As a kid, he said he sold what he called lucky pencils from his front yard to tourists walking to the horse track in Saratoga.
Ball likes his sociology class so much that he’s decided to add sociology as a minor, he said.
His closest friends from high school attend SUNY Plattsburgh, and he visited them several times during their first year while he was working.
“They definitely encouraged my choice,” Ball said. “I genuinely enjoyed the community that was on campus.”
‘Schedule Allows for Dedicated Study Time’
Julian Baynham, an undeclared major who wants to be a chiropractor, said he’s enjoyed going on bike trips with his resident assistant and other students.
“We go to Stewart’s and through the town. It’s really cool,” the Calcium, N.Y., native said.
Even though the days are long, the structured schedule of the program allows him dedicated time to complete his homework each day before bed so he can stay on track, Baynham said.
Workshops where students learn about the services available to them are another key part of Summer Academy, Joseph said. Students listen to presentations by staff from offices like the Career Development Center, the Accessibility Resources Office, the Learning Center and University Police.
Joseph said she likes to say EOP students come in with a bit of a head start in the fall because of the Summer Academy programming.
While other first-year students will be forming peer relationships in their college environment for the first time, “our students are coming in with a cohort of people they are (already) close or familiar with,” Joseph said. “It gives them a bit of an advantage in a place where they don’t feel like they have an advantage.”
Baynham said in addition to enjoying his Summer Academy experience, he’s feeling better about the fall semester than when he first arrived for the program. He’s feeling pretty confident, he said.
“From what I understand, it seems like my schedule isn’t going to be as jam-packed as it is now. I’ve also gotten acquainted with the campus and the people (here),” he said.
— Story, Photos by Assistant Director of Communications Felicia Krieg
— Group Photo Provided