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Siena's Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) welcomed 19 students to campus July 5 for a five-week skill-building program designed to prepare them for the start of their college experience this fall.
“These young people are going to through a five-week program that is going to teach and inform them about the quantity of work that is required here, but more importantly the quality of work,” Director of Siena’s HEOP program, Carol Sandoval, told family members and community members at a welcome luncheon before turning her attention to the students. “You’re not going to write book reports here; you’re going to do research.”
Students attend classes each weekday morning and participate in a diverse set of workshops and seminars in the afternoon. Two hour blocks are set aside for studying six days during the week, and on Saturday the students enjoy social activities that help them get to know their classmates and the Capital Region.
The HEOP provides academic support and financial assistance to young people who might not meet all the traditional college admissions criteria but show promise of succeeding in college. It is funded jointly by Siena and a grant from the New York State Education Department.
Siena received close to 1,000 applications for its HEOP Class of 2020, and nearly 100 students came to campus to interview.
The summer program helps students develop academically, socially and emotionally. It is a launching point that has yielded amazing results.
“We are a very successful program,” Sandoval said. “Our students typically graduate in four years at a rate higher than the state and national average.”
Sandoval told the new students they would learn everything about college they never knew but were afraid to ask over the next 33 days.
“Come September, your freshman roommate is going to look at you and say ‘how did you know that?’, because you will have all the information you need to know about the College and how to succeed here,” Sandoval said.
