Student Support Services Alum Cashman to Receive National TRIO Achiever Award

A member of the SUNY Plattsburgh University Council and Class of 2003 was one of six people nationwide to receive the 2024 National TRIO Achiever Award from the Council for Opportunity in Education.

Michael Cashman ’03 G’06 was selected as having been an alum of Student Support Services, one of three federal TRIO programs on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus. According to the COE, recipients of the National TRIO Achiever Award are selected for having “made significant contributions to their professions and communities.”

The award recognizes outstanding alumni from the federal programs that include, among others, Student Support Services, Upward Bound and the Educational Opportunity Program. According to COE, these programs “provide educational support to students from low-income, first-generation backgrounds, helping them to succeed in higher education and beyond."

Past recipients include EGOT winner Viola Davis, New York Times best-selling author and journalist Sarah Smarsh and retired NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez.

First-Generation College Student

Cashman is a first-generation college graduate who, by his own admission “triumphed over the challenges of dyslexia” and was the youngest candidate at 34 to have been elected supervisor of the Town of Plattsburgh. Cashman, who is serving his third term as supervisor, was first elected in 2015 after having served as town councilor in 2014.

Kimberly Jones, president of the Council for Opportunity in Education, said that Cashman “exemplifies the spirit and impact of the TRIO programs.”

“His dedication to public service and his community, along with his professional accomplishments, highlights TRIO’s essential role in empowering students to achieve their full potential. We are honored to recognize him as a 2024 national TRIO achiever,” she said.

Credits SSS, Academics

While at SUNY Plattsburgh, Cashman served two terms as president of the Student Association and was active in both the local and national chapters of leadership honor society Omicron Delta Kappa. Mentors include William Laundry, retired dean of students and interim vice president for student affairs, and Dr. Michele Carpentier, Student Support Services director emerita, who nominated Cashman for the National TRIO Achiever Award.

Since Cashman was an undergrad, he has continually credited SSS as well as the education he received at SUNY Plattsburgh.

“I take immense pride in what are alma mater does to enrich students’ lives both in and outside the classroom,” Cashman said. “My success is a direct result of strong academic programs, lifelong mentors, the extraordinary TRIO Student Support Services program, and my involvement in co-curricular experiences like the Student Association and Omicron Delta Kappa.”

Joined SUNY Plattsburgh Staff

After graduation, Cashman held staff positions at SUNY Plattsburgh in the Office of Alumni Relations and the Center for Student Involvement. He was the recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service. In 2022 he was appointed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to the Plattsburgh University Council.

A native of Massachusetts, Cashman fell in love with the North Country as well as his freshman sweetheart, Dr. Olivia Busuttil Cashman '03/'05, who married in 2005 on the steps of Hawkins Hall, where the couple met as freshmen. The pair reside in Morrisonville, N.Y.

The 2024 National TRIO Achiever Award recipients will be feted at a dinner Tuesday, Sept. 10 at the COE annual conference in New York City hosted by John Quinones, ABC-TV news correspondent and host of ABC’s “What Would You Do” series. For more information on the Council for Opportunity in Education and the National TRIO Achiever Awards, visit www.coenet.org.

— By Associate Director of Communications Gerianne Downs