by Berkis Eusebio-Cruz, HEO Assistant
ASAP Career and Employment Specialist
Although growing every year since inception, the ASAP program experienced a very significant increase in the number of students accepted to the program this past year. Adding 541 new students, the total number of students, both new and continuing, reached 783. Despite this phenomenal growth, the program continues to deliver tangible and substantial results in students’ performance, credits attained, graduation projections and career/professional development. The ASAP program has helped hundreds of students over the years achieve their goals, from getting their first job to the ultimate goal, graduation. The program has developed academic advisement and career services specific to the needs of Hostos students, particularly for underrepresented minority groups. Some of our achievements include:
All three Spring 2016 Guttman Scholarship Transfer Awardees were ASAP Students and two ASAP students (1 current, 1 Alumna) participated in the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority students and won first place in their presentations. One student received the Newman Civic Fellows Award for his participation in the Hostos Leadership Academy and also received the Carlos Beltran Scholarship; and two ASAP students received the Skadden, Arps Honors Program Scholarship. ASAP students also participated (and won third place!) in the STEM Olympics and a basketball team member who is part of our program won a CUNY Athletics Travel Award to Cuba. The 2015 Kwanzaa Awardee is an ASAP student ready to graduate, 30 ASAP Students received academic achievement medals/awards in the Honors Convocation and three students received the Gerald Meyer Transfer Scholarship. In the last seven years, two of the seven students who earned the salutatorian or valedictorian were ASAP students. In the 2014-2015 academic year, 11 members of Student Government were ASAP students. ASAP HOSTOS graduates have gone on to study at senior colleges that include: Belloit College; Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, Fordham University, New York University (NYU), Occidental University, and Stony Brook. Our graduates have gone on to careers in fields ranging from Cancer Research Assistant at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to Junior Web Director at CUNY Prep; Technical Intern at the United Nations to Lead Regional Sales at State Farm; Caseworker for ACS to English Teacher in Japan; US Navy Petty Officer to Community Outreach Worker for Fidelis Care. We are very proud of their accomplishments!