Coming to Le Moyne has been an eye-opening experience for me. Being part of the HEOP-AHANA program has been a tremendous help and support for me. Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) and African-American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American (AHANA) has been an immense help in supporting me financially and academically. Since I’ve been at Le Moyne, these programs have helped by providing broad and varied educational experiences to myself and other capable students who, due to being academically unprepared and having limited financial resources, might not have an opportunity to attend college. The HEOP and AHANA programs provide academic support services, counseling, and financial aid to enable students like myself to successfully complete their program of study at Le Moyne. AHANA is different than the HEOP program in the sense that it is a Le Moyne sponsored program for in state and out of state students who demonstrate academic ability and potential for collegiate success. Le Moyne is the only school with a program like AHANA.

Before coming to Le Moyne as a freshman in the fall of 2014, the HEOP-AHANA program did a five-week summer program where students like myself learned the basic skills needed to keep-up with my peers when the school year finally started. At the time, I thought the task was tedious and unnecessary; however, in retrospect, I can now see how beneficial it has been for not only my academic journey, but also my networking career. Without the HEOP-AHANA program I can honestly say I wouldn’t be where I am today as a senior with multiple networking resources and academic support. The one big aspect that the program has provided me with these past four years have been the funding of books needed for class. This was a big part in my decision to attend Le Moyne because coming in I knew college textbooks were expensive, especially because of my major. I knew that my major required a lot of reading which meant purchasing a lot of expensive textbooks.

The program has been a powerful help because I got to interact with the upperclassmen when I was an underclassman and that really changed my perspective on the way I look at things now. The interaction gave me a chance to network, learn, and socialize. Looking back at my experiences, I see how much I’ve grown because of this program. I had academic counselors that cared to ask me about the way classes were going and if I needed any additional help. Knowing that I had people who cared about my academic well-being meant the world to me since I came from an overpopulated public high school. The time given to me by everyone in this office has left an immense impact on the rest of my academic career. The office of HEOP-AHANA truly embody Le Moyne’s Jesuit principles which is demonstrating its interest in and commitment to diversity and inclusion by expanding its student body to include the rich ethnic, racial, and economic diversity of our society. The program provides academic support, counseling, advising services and opportunities for leadership and professional development. These programs have not only helped me, but also other minorities who came from similar backgrounds.