Student Named as Statewide EOP Ambassador
November 1, 2024
Hudson Valley Community College Architectural Technology student Susan Rahimi has been selected as one of just 20 students from across the SUNY system chosen to serve as EOP Ambassadors.
SUNY’s Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Programs (EOP), which are housed at 54 of the State University’s colleges and universities, provide personal counseling, academic support and financial assistance to students who show promise for succeeding in college. EOP students may fall slightly below the criteria for admission or meet economic eligibility guidelines set by the NYS Education Department.
The EOP Ambassadors program was created to help promote the program through grassroots outreach by carefully selected EOP students. Ambassadors are asked to participate in advocacy and recruitment events and promote college enrollment, especially among those without a strong support network or those who may be first generation students.
Described by Hudson Valley staff as “academically strong, dependable, responsible and empathetic,” Rahimi was nominated for the ambassador program by EOP counselor Michelle Cavaleri. “Susan is a great fit for this position because she is passionate about education and helping others in need,” Cavaleri said. “She leads by example and is a great role model and resource for students.”
Rahimi served as a peer leader in the college’s EOP summer program last year and currently acts as a peer mentor, helping other Hudson Valley EOP students navigate the college environment, support services and student activities.
When college EOP staff were informed that the SUNY-wide Ambassador program was looking for new students, Rahimi was at the top of their list. “Throughout this year’s summer program, Susan welcomed new students’ questions, helped them feel more at ease and assisted them in navigating their first few weeks on campus,” Cavaleri said. “Her devotion to helping her fellow students is nothing short of inspiring.”
As part of the statewide EOP Ambassador program, Rahimi has participated in several recruitment events with high school students and their families as well as high school guidance counselors, helping to explain the benefits of college and the opportunities provided through EOP.
“Most students in EOP don’t have the same support through their family that maybe other students have, and so that’s why the EOP is so important. It becomes a support for many first generation or low-income students,” Rahimi said.
In addition to her work in the EOP office and as an ambassador, Rahimi is a President’s List student in the Architectural Technology degree program. She enjoys the union of creativity and technical skill that the architecture field presents, and her ultimate goal is to continue her studies to become a registered architect.
Like many students in the EOP program, Rahimi’s life path has been far from straightforward. Her family emigrated to the United States from Afghanistan when she was 12, and she made the difficult transition from one culture to another as the oldest of three siblings.
She said her goals for the ambassador program are simple. “I just want to inform as many people as possible about the program and help them apply. Many students are eligible (for EOP) but they just don’t know about it or know how to apply,” she said.
“The Educational Opportunity Program is a vital resource for the recruitment and retention of our students and, as someone who has overseen EOP here at the college during my career, I’m so pleased that one of our own students has been selected to help spread the word as an ambassador for the program,” said Officer in Charge Louis Coplin.
EOP enrolls more than 2,500 first-time, full-time freshmen each year at SUNY institutions and boasts more than 85,000 alumni. Find out more about the EOP program at Hudson Valley.