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SCHOLARSHIP AND SERVICE Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program
For more than 50 years, Mount Saint Mary College’s Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) has been providing support to traditionally underserved students who have strong academic potential, but would otherwise be excluded from higher education due to circumstances of academic and economic disadvantage.
The Mount’s HEOP is one of the most established and successful of its kind in New York. Since 1969, the program has been integral to the college’s commitment to accessible higher education and its philosophy of preparing students for a life of leadership.
In keeping with the college’s Dominican tradition – and Mount President Dr. Jason N. Adsit’s vision of service – HEOP also emphasizes volunteerism. Accepted Mount HEOP students are required to complete the four-week Summer Academic Institute prior to their freshman year, jumpstarting their sense of community. In addition, HEOP students volunteer with local organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club of Newburgh, the Newburgh Ministry, and more.
Achieving dreams though scholarships
One of the ways the HEOP students’ educational dreams come true is through scholarships, including the Anne F. Bourne Memorial Fund.
The Anne F. Bourne Memorial Fund, administered by the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan, provides grants to nonprofit organizations for programs for the spiritual, moral, and general improvement of economically disadvantaged minority residents of the City of Newburgh. For many years before his passing, John H. Smith, Sr., a longtime friend of the Mount, served as the Treasurer of the Anne F. Bourne Memorial Fund.
In March 2020, the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan presented a donation of $16,000 from the Anne F. Bourne Fund to support Mount students, including $9,000 for HEOP.
In November 2021, the trustees of the Anne F. Bourne Fund, Mr. Wilbur Higgins, Ms. Rachel Schuyler ’97 & ‘’00, and Ms. Cathy McCarty unanimously voted to donate $24,000 to support three City of Newburgh HEOP students.
“Meeting our Bourne Fund HEOP Scholars was inspiring. They are articulate, passionate, hard-working, and dedicated to achieving their dreams of a college degree. We are so impressed by what they have already accomplished and are thrilled to be able to provide this increased donation,” said Ms. McCarty.
“Mount Saint Mary College is deeply appreciative of the long standing, generous support of the Anne F. Bourne Fund and the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan,” said Nikki Khurana-Baugh, vice president
Anne F. Bourne Fund and the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan members meet with MSMC HEOP and the Advancement.
for College Advancement, adding that their contributions “directly impact student success and ability to graduate.”
One such student is Marichen Monitel-Hertling, a junior Business Management and Administration major from Newburgh, N.Y.
“Anne Bourne has blessed me for the past three years of my college experience,” she explained, noting that the scholarship “has allowed me to continue my studies while providing me with ease of mind, knowing that I do not have to stress over my financial situation. It has also been a great motivator and has pushed me to continue working hard, it’s good to know others believe and invest in my education.”
FAMILY FIRSTS
Many Mount HEOP students are the first in their families to earn a college degree, noted Kelvin Herrera-Hassan, director of the Mount’s HEOP/CSTEP.
“It’s important for Mount Saint Mary College to cultivate students like this because this program aims to help students succeed through education and to make contributions to their communities and society at large,” said Herrera-Hassan. “Many of our HEOP graduates have entered careers in medicine, law, business, communications, social work, and more. The accomplishments of our students are clear.”
It’s rewarding, Herrera-Hassan added, to see HEOP students grow personally, academically, and professionally: “Nothing compares to the feeling of being able to see them come in as wide-eyed freshmen and leave successful, experienced students ready to conquer anything and everything.”
EXCELLENT ALUMNI
Some of the best and brightest graduates the Mount has ever produced came from HEOP.
Beth Mills ’77 is the board president of 1346 Park Place HDFC, a co-op for low- to middle-income families in Brooklyn, N.Y. with a unique management approach: all residents are expected to pitch in and help maintain the upkeep of the building and agree to special community living standards. In exchange, the residents feel a sense of shared leadership and responsibility and enjoy a positive and mutually respectful living space.
Mills is proud to give back to her alma mater, she said: “I contribute because it helps to insure that I will be able to relax in one of the lounge chairs in Aquinas Hall with a quiet smile in my heart knowing that I was fortunate enough to have attended and graduated from MSMC and the hope that someone else like me will have the same opportunity.”
John Koepper ’72 got into the program when the director of HEOP at the time, Sr. Ann Stankiewicz, OP, gave him a chance to prove himself by taking a summer course. He was able to maintain good grades while still working 35 hours a week at Shatz Optical and enrolled at the college that fall. Upon graduation, Koepper combined his knowledge of teaching and crafting eyewear at the Wallkill Correctional Facility, where he taught inmates how to make glasses.
Koepper remains grateful to the college and gives annually to the Mount’s HEOP as a way of giving back to future generations. He encourages others to do the same: “Give what you can, because who you are and what you have become is because someone helped you along the way,” he explained. “We cannot take kindness without passing it on. Please pass it on.”
The group gathered in Mount Saint Mary College’s James Finn Cotter Villa Library to discus the Mount's Higher Education Opportunity Program.
Helping HEOP
HEOP students often juggle fulltime jobs with fulltime course schedules to pay off loans and aid their families financially. In the 2021-2022 academic year, the Mount will contribute $1 million toward the education of more than 30 HEOP students in an effort to help them lighten their financial load and focus more on their education.
If you feel passionate about supporting underserved students through their academic journey at the Mount, it’s easy to join the effort. The more funding the Mount has for HEOP, the more students it can send out into the world ready to contribute in diverse and innovative ways.
