The Legacy of the Educational Opportunity Program

Established in 1967 and codified in 1970 with the enactment of New York State Education Law 6452. The Educational Opportunity Program, or EOP, was among the first formalized access and support service structures in the country, in operation at 47 SUNY campuses. EOP is modeled on the SEEK program, which stands for Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge. A program that was established in 1966 in the City University. The program was conceived of and sponsored by then first-year New York State Association of Educational Opportunities. Assemblyman Arthur O. Eve, with support of the Rockefeller Administration, as well as the Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus. Subsequent legislation established the Higher Education Opportunity Program, or Eop, at New York private institutions. Program design was forward-thinking in that eligibility was based upon socioeconomic status rather than race, an approach figuring prominently. in the current dialogue on access. Due to the significant intersection of low-income and underrepresented populations, this approach has permitted the program to provide access to the full range of low-income students. The Educational Opportunity Program has evolved into a successful model for meeting the needs of at-risk students and has served as a template for other access programs both within and external to the university. The historic impact of the Educational Opportunity Program at SUNY was envisioned by the first administrator of EOP's special programs, Dr. James S. Smoot. The following retrospective bears out his prophecy. Enough people of goodwill and ability were getting their act together, and we were going to bring a change. A change not only in society, but... For me, a change in education, the way that we taught. The first challenge was having members of that large and sprawling institution come together around a common commitment. I mean, after all, programs exist only in our heads. We think ideas. We think special programs. You can't touch it, you can't feel it, it's in our head and heart. So the way you move a program forward initially is to get the right ideas in people's heads. History is changed when men and women from all walks of life are inspired to a common ground by their uncommon commitment. So it was from the first stirrings of special programs, a confluence of commitment by, at first, a few leaders in education and government. We wanted to create a program so that the... Injured of our society could occupy positions of power. The Black, Puerto Rican, and Hispanic caucus went to the Speaker's office really to push during budget time to ensure that the budget included funding for their young people that were looking, seeking to go to college, as the program, well, is named SEEK. Much is made of the so-called Midnight March. It wasn't midnight, it was a little after midnight that we met with Tom Travia and he agreed to it. Republicans joined Democrats in this endeavor. And I felt we had a moral obligation to do this. Iraqi who is very anxious to do it. Arthur E. God bless him, took all of this. And went into the state colleges, as I said, public and private, and expanding it far beyond my... belief at the time we did it. In that, flipping through that budget, I saw a program in New York City that was called the SEEK program. And that program really caught my eye because I'd had the experience of having to leave college because I didn't have enough money to stay in school. I sort of focused on that particular program. To see if I could get that program started, somewhat similar program in the State University system and so that was probably one of the proudest accomplishments of my first year with a meager $500,000 to get the what we then called the SEEK program for the State University of New York. I give God and Percy Sutton credit for starting SEEK, EOP, Eop because if that That was not in the budget. I don't think I was smart enough to develop and do all the research and come up with the finding. Two hundred and forty-nine disadvantaged students braved a new world of educational opportunity at Buffalo State in the fall of 1967. Renamed the Educational Opportunity Program, in only its second year, it expanded to ten campuses, enrolling nearly one thousand students. By nineteen In 1969, there were more than 2,500 EOP students on 18 campuses. With the turn of the decade, EOP programs existed on 30 campuses. Creating, in effect, a new institution, I think, you have to bear that in mind. It was the campuses, yes, but it was beyond the campuses. We were creating almost conceptually a semi-autonomous program with its own initiatives and directors who were going to have some authority on their own. There were many tight times. I remember years in the history when we were all told that this program was going to fold. And a lot of individuals got on the phones and tried to work very hard. And we are very fortunate to have key players in the legislature, like Deputy Speaker Eve, for example. One year we had some major problem in the third year. So I called the Buff State and said, do you have a graduate, somebody who's graduated from the CKOP? program since you were the first one. I need to have someone. Buffalo State answered Eve's call by sending its first SEEK EOP graduate to testify to the assembly. My name is Martha Percy and I'm the first EOP graduate of State University College at Buffalo and I graduated in January 1971. You know, when I look over everything that I've done and everything that I've been through in terms of my academic, my foundation, was a counselor, Emma McFadden, who took an interest in a student who was so overwhelmed with college that academics was secondary, and she put me back on track. I'm just so thankful because, again, without that, you know, I think because we come from wherever and we're just very free and we're just so overwhelmed, we still need tough counselors to say, hey, get a grip. This is why you're here. You've lost focus, but I haven't lost focus for you. I'm not giving up on you. You're going to pay attention and you're going to do what you need to do. do. We concentrate on the person, the whole person. We make them think, no, what are you like? You told me this about your mom. You told me this about your brothers and sisters. You told me this about your upbringing. No, let's really look at your person and find out what's going to make you happy and successful as an adult. And I went back home and there was luck. I think I saw her in the hallway crying, if I remember correctly. And I pulled her into my office and said, what's going on? My mom used to, I guess, battle with me. with alcoholism. The was distraught and she said she didn't know what she was going to do. The told me her mother had kicked her out. So I started letting her know, okay, you need to calm down. I'm going to help you. It might not be today, but before this summer comes, you will have a place to stay. And she did. That summer, Yahaira lived on campus and afterwards stayed there year round. Some of these kids have lives that are so complicated that they need a lot more. And that's what we do. The way we are in this department, we're we're going to find a way to help you. I attended SUNY Geneseo through Eop because it was better for my family to afford it. Through regular admissions, you probably wouldn't have been able to afford to go to this school or many other schools. The support of the staff and also the advisors that were there, they helped us along the way. They gave us advice. So that kind of gave us more support and guidance and courage to get through it. My name's Isaac Joel. I attend SUNY Purchase. I'm a sophomore. The Eop program is really helpful to me because free tutoring and just being able to go in to Martha, that's my counselor right now, talk to her about problems I'm having with either academics or at home. You could go in and talk about anything and it's really, it's a big family. EOP has given me the support that I needed to hit the ground running. Without EOP, I don't know where I would be. I'm fortunate to now mentor incoming EOP freshmen and hopefully change somebody's college experience for the better. like my mentor did for me. All the other programs that I've got accepted to the different schools, the EOP program was really welcoming and they were the first one to reach out to me and made me feel welcome into the college community. So that was the breaking point for me and made me decide to come to Duke. One of the greatest resources that Eop gives their students is tutoring and their emotional support from their staff. If you're deciding to come to Geneseo through Eop, definitely come because of the support that you will receive, the financial help. that you will receive and the friends that you make through Eop because we truly are a family. Coming through Geneseo through Eop is probably one of the best decisions that you can ever make. It's not simply because of the support that they give you but the growth that you experience. My name is The Walker and I am Eop. My name is Cesar Nunez and I am Eop. I'm Marquis Riggins. I'm a playwriting and screenwriting major at Purchase College and Eop to me means togetherness. Remember you can't spell it. people without EOP. The Educational Opportunity Program at Schenectady County Community College has been a part of this institution's history since we opened our doors in 1969. As a proud EOP and SCC alum and the director of the EOP, we want you to hear the voices of our students. Hi, my name is Monique Torres. I'm a part of the EOP program here at Schenectady Community College. Using the tutors here, they really helped me gain a lot of core concepts. Hi you guys my name is Vivian Yeboah I'm currently a sophomore at Mooresville State College and I'm also an EOP student. What EOP means to me is a fresh start not only just starting off academically but also building a new family as well. Hi my name is Vivian Yeboah I'm an upcoming sophomore here at Mooresville State College. EOP literally means everything to me. If it wasn't for EOP I probably wouldn't have accomplished the things I did so far. I accomplished a 4.0, I'm an SGO Vice President. And when I'm stressed, I always have somebody to talk to. So without them, I'd probably not be here. My EOP counselor helped me because he kept me focused. When you tell me that I'm not going to get my money, if I don't do this, if I don't get this grade, that is an influencing factor that is far greater than anything else. Because I knew that I needed the economic assistance in order to stay here. I knew because I came from a low-income family that if I didn't get it that I wouldn't have a chance to do anything else and I would have to live in the projects and be stuck forever. EOP students were provided with additional educational assistance and tutoring that all of the students benefited from. It lifted up not just me, it lifted up my whole family and it lifted up my daughter. I was a Sikh student but look at my kid. The's a Harvard graduate, she's a Columbia University graduate, she's now a partner in a law firm. I'm the first person to have made it to college and I'm definitely the first to become a doctor. Now my son is also a doctor. Because of EOP that I'm doing what I'm doing today. And thank God for EOP. EOP was one of the ways that I really got to where I am today. It unlocked a very valuable piece of the puzzle. EOP gave me the opportunity really to make the transition from being an inner city youth to a large university. Without EOP I'm certain that I would not have been here today. I grew up in Bethesda. I'm Harrison in Brooklyn and my mother was a single parent raising three kids. The told us that education was the only way out. The couldn't afford it though. So if it wasn't for ELP I wouldn't be going to college. Who knows what would happen to me. Without ELP I don't know where I would have been. It has made it possible for me to better my life and better the people around me. And I am very grateful to the program and Dr. Eve for all that they have done to make it possible. I have my Associate's, Bachelor's, Master's and Ph.D. through the program. EOP program so I definitely feel blessed. The program changed my life. My name is Cheryl Hamilton and I have the honor of serving as Associate Provost and Director of Opportunity Programs for the State University of New York. The Educational Opportunity Program has changed the economic trajectory for these students, their families, and their communities. Presently the Educational Opportunity Program is leading the way in terms of promoting social mobility. among our State University of New York students. The Educational Opportunity Program has developed an evidence-based, multi-dimensional, multi-pronged approach to promoting student success. In fact, the Educational Opportunity Program model in and of itself is often referenced as a best practice or a series of best practices in promoting success in higher education. My vision for the program is based basically expansion. ...to serve more students. Clearly we know, we know what it takes to bring these students in, prepare them so they can hit the ground running and so that they can be successful. My goal is to expand experiential learning opportunities. for our students. We want to see more of our EOP students involved in undergraduate research. We want more of our students to participate in internship opportunities. We want to see more of our EOP students studying abroad. It's our goal to prepare our students for success in this global society. I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you to the Educational Opportunity Program family, my family, our directors, our counselors, our instructors, and our tutors for your work in creating an ecosystem of support for our students. To our Chancellor, our Provost, and Chairman McCall, we thank you for supporting and sustaining this program so that we can continue to succeed through the 21st century. None of this would have been possible without the wonderful work of Deputy Speaker, the Honorable Dr. Arthur O. Eve. I want to say from the bottom of my heart to Deputy Speaker Eve, we thank you. We appreciate. your vision and we appreciate your unrelenting advocacy for this program. 50 years, more than 70,000 graduates. Thank you. It's all about expectation and so many of the kids have no one who's giving them high expectation. Today I'm a criminal defense attorney and it's what I love to do is a passion and EOP and this the support staff and the people there really helped me to find that direction. Well, I'm doing on-camera work. I work as a freelance reporter for New Jersey Network. I'm also a working actor. I do voiceovers, commercials, and feature films. Actually, I had a film last year win for the Latino Film Festival, HBO. So thank you. I'm very grateful to the Education Opportunity Program. And without them, I probably wouldn't be standing here before you this evening. Currently, I'm a Deputy Assistant Public Defender for the state of Connecticut. I'm a lawyer for the Public Defender's Office. I provide services for those people who cannot provide services for themselves. The Chief of the Investigation Division for the Department of Human Services. I'm a radio personality for 98.7 KISS FM in New York, and largely because of the ELP program. for giving me the broadcasting education that I needed. I'm a news director for a TV show called Transit Transit News. I reached about 22 million homes in the New York tri-state area. Last year we won an Emmy, this year we won our second nomination. I have two Emmys. My mother traveled from South Carolina to my graduation. And it was probably the first time in my life that I had seen her cry tears of joy as opposed to tears of sadness. And I have this program, the Educational Opportunity Program, to thank for that. And I close with my favorite illustration. It's not mine. It's Benjamin Elijah Mays. Dr. Mays said there were two men in a race. The one on the left, he had AstroTurf track. He had aerodynamic shorts. They had cut holes in them so the wind would just blow through as he ran. He had spikes on his track shoes. And he had been in training for nine months. They taught him how to eat the right food and how to breathe. And they made him do calisthenics. And they gave him starting blocks so that he could get his balance. And then they told him, make sure that you keep your eye on the prize. Look at the finish line. Don't look down. Look at where you got to go. Then there's the other runner. He didn't have any shoes. No AstroTurf. Matter of fact, he had rusty nails, broken glass, and splinters in his track. Shorts, no. They cut off a pair of jeans. No starting blocks. They just dug two holes in the ground. And he didn't have anything decent to eat, you know, he was eating cheeseburgers all day, you know, nothing good, nothing, no training. And he just looked down. Nobody ever told him to keep his eye on the prize. Oh, and one more thing. He had a ball and chain attached to his ankle. On your mark, get set, bam! Well, who jumped out in front? Let's run over here, breezing down the track. People cheering him, run, run, run. Now... The other fella, what's happening to him? You got Tom Morales selling, run! Damn it, run! I don't care where you come from. I don't care how broke you are. Run! Make sure you run. You got Arthur Eve saying, run! Drag that ball and chain. Drag it! Do what you can. Run! And you know what? Some of us made it. I am Dr. Calderon. I um, after graduating medical school, I trained in family medicine. I practiced in New York, trained in neurology, and then went to the west coast to UCLA-Jeru to do full-time research. I just took a position as associate professor at Nova Southeast University in Fort Lauderdale. So I basically do research in medicine and I'm an academic as it were. I'm happy to be so. Believe it or not, feet bleeding, stumbling and falling, out of breath, not really knowing what direction we're headed, but we kept running. And then all of a sudden, R.V.E., Percy Sutton, Adam Clayton Powell, Martha Luther King, a bunch of Thurgood Martha like that, they come along, stop the race. What do you mean stop the race? Yeah, stop it. We're going to stand right here. You're going to run over us. Stop it. what do you want us to do? Take this fellow right here, yeah. Heal his feet, give him some track shoes, give him some starting blocks, give him some aerodynamic shorts, teach him how to breathe, let him eat the right food. Give him some counseling. Tell him to keep his eye on the finish line. You know? And yes, cut that ball and chain off of his ankle. And then what? We've done all that. Then, stop this fella and bring him to me. him right up here. So they're equal. And then do what? Shoot the gun again. And you know what happens when you shoot the gun again? You get Fred Brunington. I'm a practicing lawyer on Long Island where I have the largest African American own law firm on Long Island and it's only because I had a chance to get an education. If I hadn't had that opportunity I wouldn't be where I am today. Thank goodness to EOP and thank goodness to my mom. You get Joel Pierre-Louis. Currently I'm an attorney in-house, I'm a staff attorney for SUNY System. So I've come back home. You get all these men and women who are going to be honored today when you shoot the gun again and everybody's had an equal opportunity to succeed. and run, you get a fair race. And that's all that America is about. Like this river, I've been running ever since. It's been a long, long time coming. A lot of change has got to come. He turned me down, and then I go to my little mother. My dear mother, oh now. I said mother, said mother, I'm down on my knees. But there was a time that I thought, Lord, this could have been too bad. Oh, oh. Somehow I thought I was still able to carry on. It's been a long, long, long time coming. But I know, I know, the change has come. It's been so long, it's been so long. I've lived too long, but the change has got to come. Sometimes, sometimes it's up to me.

Subsequent legislation established the Higher Education Opportunity Program, or Eop, at New York private institutions. Program design was forward-thinking in that eligibility was based upon socioeconomic status rather than race, an approach figuring prominently. in the current dialogue on access.

Due to the significant intersection of low-income and underrepresented populations, this approach has permitted the program to provide access to the full range of low-income students. The Educational Opportunity Program has evolved into a successful model for meeting the needs of at-risk students and has served as a template for other access programs both within and external to the university. The historic impact of the Educational Opportunity Program at SUNY was envisioned by the first administrator of EOP's special programs, Dr. James S. Smoot.

The following retrospective bears out his prophecy. Enough people of goodwill and ability were getting their act together, and we were going to bring a change. A change not only in society, but...

For me, a change in education, the way that we taught. The first challenge was having members of that large and sprawling institution come together around a common commitment. I mean, after all, programs exist only in our heads.

We think ideas. We think special programs. You can't touch it, you can't feel it, it's in our head and heart. So the way you move a program forward initially is to get the right ideas in people's heads. History is changed when men and women from all walks of life are inspired to a common ground by their uncommon commitment.

So it was from the first stirrings of special programs, a confluence of commitment by, at first, a few leaders in education and government. We wanted to create a program so that the... Injured of our society could occupy positions of power.

The Black, Puerto Rican, and Hispanic caucus went to the Speaker's office really to push during budget time to ensure that the budget included funding for their young people that were looking, seeking to go to college, as the program, well, is named SEEK. Much is made of the so-called Midnight March. It wasn't midnight, it was a little after midnight that we met with Tom Travia and he agreed to it. Republicans joined Democrats in this endeavor.

And I felt we had a moral obligation to do this. Iraqi who is very anxious to do it. Arthur E. God bless him, took all of this. And went into the state colleges, as I said, public and private, and expanding it far beyond my...

belief at the time we did it. In that, flipping through that budget, I saw a program in New York City that was called the SEEK program. And that program really caught my eye because I'd had the experience of having to leave college because I didn't have enough money to stay in school.

I sort of focused on that particular program. To see if I could get that program started, somewhat similar program in the State University system and so that was probably one of the proudest accomplishments of my first year with a meager $500,000 to get the what we then called the SEEK program for the State University of New York. I give God and Percy Sutton credit for starting SEEK, EOP, Eop because if that That was not in the budget.

I don't think I was smart enough to develop and do all the research and come up with the finding. Two hundred and forty-nine disadvantaged students braved a new world of educational opportunity at Buffalo State in the fall of 1967. Renamed the Educational Opportunity Program, in only its second year, it expanded to ten campuses, enrolling nearly one thousand students. By nineteen In 1969, there were more than 2,500 EOP students on 18 campuses. With the turn of the decade, EOP programs existed on 30 campuses.

Creating, in effect, a new institution, I think, you have to bear that in mind. It was the campuses, yes, but it was beyond the campuses. We were creating almost conceptually a semi-autonomous program with its own initiatives and directors who were going to have some authority on their own. There were many tight times. I remember years in the history when we were all told that this program was going to fold.

And a lot of individuals got on the phones and tried to work very hard. And we are very fortunate to have key players in the legislature, like Deputy Speaker Eve, for example. One year we had some major problem in the third year. So I called the Buff State and said, do you have a graduate, somebody who's graduated from the CKOP? program since you were the first one.

I need to have someone. Buffalo State answered Eve's call by sending its first SEEK EOP graduate to testify to the assembly. My name is Martha Percy and I'm the first EOP graduate of State University College at Buffalo and I graduated in January 1971. You know, when I look over everything that I've done and everything that I've been through in terms of my academic, my foundation, was a counselor, Emma McFadden, who took an interest in a student who was so overwhelmed with college that academics was secondary, and she put me back on track. I'm just so thankful because, again, without that, you know, I think because we come from wherever and we're just very free and we're just so overwhelmed, we still need tough counselors to say, hey, get a grip. This is why you're here.

You've lost focus, but I haven't lost focus for you. I'm not giving up on you. You're going to pay attention and you're going to do what you need to do. do.

We concentrate on the person, the whole person. We make them think, no, what are you like? You told me this about your mom. You told me this about your brothers and sisters. You told me this about your upbringing.

No, let's really look at your person and find out what's going to make you happy and successful as an adult. And I went back home and there was luck. I think I saw her in the hallway crying, if I remember correctly.

And I pulled her into my office and said, what's going on? My mom used to, I guess, battle with me. with alcoholism. The was distraught and she said she didn't know what she was going to do.

The told me her mother had kicked her out. So I started letting her know, okay, you need to calm down. I'm going to help you.

It might not be today, but before this summer comes, you will have a place to stay. And she did. That summer, Yahaira lived on campus and afterwards stayed there year round. Some of these kids have lives that are so complicated that they need a lot more. And that's what we do.

The way we are in this department, we're we're going to find a way to help you. I attended SUNY Geneseo through Eop because it was better for my family to afford it. Through regular admissions, you probably wouldn't have been able to afford to go to this school or many other schools. The support of the staff and also the advisors that were there, they helped us along the way.

They gave us advice. So that kind of gave us more support and guidance and courage to get through it. My name's Isaac Joel. I attend SUNY Purchase. I'm a sophomore.

The Eop program is really helpful to me because free tutoring and just being able to go in to Martha, that's my counselor right now, talk to her about problems I'm having with either academics or at home. You could go in and talk about anything and it's really, it's a big family. EOP has given me the support that I needed to hit the ground running. Without EOP, I don't know where I would be. I'm fortunate to now mentor incoming EOP freshmen and hopefully change somebody's college experience for the better.

like my mentor did for me. All the other programs that I've got accepted to the different schools, the EOP program was really welcoming and they were the first one to reach out to me and made me feel welcome into the college community. So that was the breaking point for me and made me decide to come to Duke. One of the greatest resources that Eop gives their students is tutoring and their emotional support from their staff.

If you're deciding to come to Geneseo through Eop, definitely come because of the support that you will receive, the financial help. that you will receive and the friends that you make through Eop because we truly are a family. Coming through Geneseo through Eop is probably one of the best decisions that you can ever make. It's not simply because of the support that they give you but the growth that you experience. My name is The Walker and I am Eop.

My name is Cesar Nunez and I am Eop. I'm Marquis Riggins. I'm a playwriting and screenwriting major at Purchase College and Eop to me means togetherness.

Remember you can't spell it. people without EOP. The Educational Opportunity Program at Schenectady County Community College has been a part of this institution's history since we opened our doors in 1969. As a proud EOP and SCC alum and the director of the EOP, we want you to hear the voices of our students. Hi, my name is Monique Torres.

I'm a part of the EOP program here at Schenectady Community College. Using the tutors here, they really helped me gain a lot of core concepts. Hi you guys my name is Vivian Yeboah I'm currently a sophomore at Mooresville State College and I'm also an EOP student. What EOP means to me is a fresh start not only just starting off academically but also building a new family as well. Hi my name is Vivian Yeboah I'm an upcoming sophomore here at Mooresville State College.

EOP literally means everything to me. If it wasn't for EOP I probably wouldn't have accomplished the things I did so far. I accomplished a 4.0, I'm an SGO Vice President.

And when I'm stressed, I always have somebody to talk to. So without them, I'd probably not be here. My EOP counselor helped me because he kept me focused. When you tell me that I'm not going to get my money, if I don't do this, if I don't get this grade, that is an influencing factor that is far greater than anything else. Because I knew that I needed the economic assistance in order to stay here.

I knew because I came from a low-income family that if I didn't get it that I wouldn't have a chance to do anything else and I would have to live in the projects and be stuck forever. EOP students were provided with additional educational assistance and tutoring that all of the students benefited from. It lifted up not just me, it lifted up my whole family and it lifted up my daughter. I was a Sikh student but look at my kid.

The's a Harvard graduate, she's a Columbia University graduate, she's now a partner in a law firm. I'm the first person to have made it to college and I'm definitely the first to become a doctor. Now my son is also a doctor.

Because of EOP that I'm doing what I'm doing today. And thank God for EOP. EOP was one of the ways that I really got to where I am today.

It unlocked a very valuable piece of the puzzle. EOP gave me the opportunity really to make the transition from being an inner city youth to a large university. Without EOP I'm certain that I would not have been here today.

I grew up in Bethesda. I'm Harrison in Brooklyn and my mother was a single parent raising three kids. The told us that education was the only way out. The couldn't afford it though.

So if it wasn't for ELP I wouldn't be going to college. Who knows what would happen to me. Without ELP I don't know where I would have been. It has made it possible for me to better my life and better the people around me. And I am very grateful to the program and Dr. Eve for all that they have done to make it possible.

I have my Associate's, Bachelor's, Master's and Ph.D. through the program. EOP program so I definitely feel blessed. The program changed my life.

My name is Cheryl Hamilton and I have the honor of serving as Associate Provost and Director of Opportunity Programs for the State University of New York. The Educational Opportunity Program has changed the economic trajectory for these students, their families, and their communities. Presently the Educational Opportunity Program is leading the way in terms of promoting social mobility. among our State University of New York students.

The Educational Opportunity Program has developed an evidence-based, multi-dimensional, multi-pronged approach to promoting student success. In fact, the Educational Opportunity Program model in and of itself is often referenced as a best practice or a series of best practices in promoting success in higher education. My vision for the program is based basically expansion. ...to serve more students.

Clearly we know, we know what it takes to bring these students in, prepare them so they can hit the ground running and so that they can be successful. My goal is to expand experiential learning opportunities. for our students.

We want to see more of our EOP students involved in undergraduate research. We want more of our students to participate in internship opportunities. We want to see more of our EOP students studying abroad. It's our goal to prepare our students for success in this global society. I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you to the Educational Opportunity Program family, my family, our directors, our counselors, our instructors, and our tutors for your work in creating an ecosystem of support for our students.

To our Chancellor, our Provost, and Chairman McCall, we thank you for supporting and sustaining this program so that we can continue to succeed through the 21st century. None of this would have been possible without the wonderful work of Deputy Speaker, the Honorable Dr. Arthur O. Eve. I want to say from the bottom of my heart to Deputy Speaker Eve, we thank you.

We appreciate. your vision and we appreciate your unrelenting advocacy for this program. 50 years, more than 70,000 graduates.

Thank you. It's all about expectation and so many of the kids have no one who's giving them high expectation. Today I'm a criminal defense attorney and it's what I love to do is a passion and EOP and this the support staff and the people there really helped me to find that direction.

Well, I'm doing on-camera work. I work as a freelance reporter for New Jersey Network. I'm also a working actor. I do voiceovers, commercials, and feature films. Actually, I had a film last year win for the Latino Film Festival, HBO.

So thank you. I'm very grateful to the Education Opportunity Program. And without them, I probably wouldn't be standing here before you this evening. Currently, I'm a Deputy Assistant Public Defender for the state of Connecticut. I'm a lawyer for the Public Defender's Office.

I provide services for those people who cannot provide services for themselves. The Chief of the Investigation Division for the Department of Human Services. I'm a radio personality for 98.7 KISS FM in New York, and largely because of the ELP program.

for giving me the broadcasting education that I needed. I'm a news director for a TV show called Transit Transit News. I reached about 22 million homes in the New York tri-state area. Last year we won an Emmy, this year we won our second nomination. I have two Emmys.

My mother traveled from South Carolina to my graduation. And it was probably the first time in my life that I had seen her cry tears of joy as opposed to tears of sadness. And I have this program, the Educational Opportunity Program, to thank for that. And I close with my favorite illustration. It's not mine.

It's Benjamin Elijah Mays. Dr. Mays said there were two men in a race. The one on the left, he had AstroTurf track.

He had aerodynamic shorts. They had cut holes in them so the wind would just blow through as he ran. He had spikes on his track shoes. And he had been in training for nine months. They taught him how to eat the right food and how to breathe.

And they made him do calisthenics. And they gave him starting blocks so that he could get his balance. And then they told him, make sure that you keep your eye on the prize.

Look at the finish line. Don't look down. Look at where you got to go. Then there's the other runner. He didn't have any shoes.

No AstroTurf. Matter of fact, he had rusty nails, broken glass, and splinters in his track. Shorts, no. They cut off a pair of jeans. No starting blocks.

They just dug two holes in the ground. And he didn't have anything decent to eat, you know, he was eating cheeseburgers all day, you know, nothing good, nothing, no training. And he just looked down.

Nobody ever told him to keep his eye on the prize. Oh, and one more thing. He had a ball and chain attached to his ankle. On your mark, get set, bam! Well, who jumped out in front?

Let's run over here, breezing down the track. People cheering him, run, run, run. Now...

The other fella, what's happening to him? You got Tom Morales selling, run! Damn it, run! I don't care where you come from.

I don't care how broke you are. Run! Make sure you run.

You got Arthur Eve saying, run! Drag that ball and chain. Drag it!

Do what you can. Run! And you know what? Some of us made it.

I am Dr. Calderon. I um, after graduating medical school, I trained in family medicine. I practiced in New York, trained in neurology, and then went to the west coast to UCLA-Jeru to do full-time research.

I just took a position as associate professor at Nova Southeast University in Fort Lauderdale. So I basically do research in medicine and I'm an academic as it were. I'm happy to be so.

Believe it or not, feet bleeding, stumbling and falling, out of breath, not really knowing what direction we're headed, but we kept running. And then all of a sudden, R.V.E., Percy Sutton, Adam Clayton Powell, Martha Luther King, a bunch of Thurgood Martha like that, they come along, stop the race. What do you mean stop the race? Yeah, stop it.

We're going to stand right here. You're going to run over us. Stop it. what do you want us to do? Take this fellow right here, yeah.

Heal his feet, give him some track shoes, give him some starting blocks, give him some aerodynamic shorts, teach him how to breathe, let him eat the right food. Give him some counseling. Tell him to keep his eye on the finish line.

You know? And yes, cut that ball and chain off of his ankle. And then what? We've done all that.

Then, stop this fella and bring him to me. him right up here. So they're equal. And then do what? Shoot the gun again. And you know what happens when you shoot the gun again?

You get Fred Brunington. I'm a practicing lawyer on Long Island where I have the largest African American own law firm on Long Island and it's only because I had a chance to get an education. If I hadn't had that opportunity I wouldn't be where I am today.

Thank goodness to EOP and thank goodness to my mom. You get Joel Pierre-Louis. Currently I'm an attorney in-house, I'm a staff attorney for SUNY System. So I've come back home.

You get all these men and women who are going to be honored today when you shoot the gun again and everybody's had an equal opportunity to succeed. and run, you get a fair race. And that's all that America is about.

Like this river, I've been running ever since. It's been a long, long time coming. A lot of change has got to come. He turned me down, and then I go to my little mother. My dear mother, oh now.

I said mother, said mother, I'm down on my knees. But there was a time that I thought, Lord, this could have been too bad. Oh, oh.

Somehow I thought I was still able to carry on. It's been a long, long, long time coming. But I know, I know, the change has come. It's been so long, it's been so long. I've lived too long, but the change has got to come.

Sometimes, sometimes it's up to me.

Transcript for:The Legacy of the Educational Opportunity Program

Transcript for:
The Legacy of the Educational Opportunity Program