SUNY Oneonta Student Wins SUNY EOP Award

Teresa Gonzalez, a senior at SUNY Oneonta, has been chosen as a recipient of SUNY's 2020 Norman R. McConney, Jr. Award for Student Excellence. The award, which bears the name of the late Norman McConney, one of the architects of the statewide Educational Opportunity Program and a champion of youth empowerment, was established last year to celebrate EOP students who have overcome significant obstacles to achieve their educational and personal goals.

An Adolescence Education major with a concentration in Spanish, Teresa is passionate about addressing challenges and inequalities faced by English Language Learner students in the United States. After leaving her home in Mexico as a teenager and coming to the U.S., Teresa faced many obstacles. Learning English was a challenge, particularly because the school she transferred into could not adequately accommodate her needs. Because of this, Teresa aspires to work with ELL students in seventh through twelfth grade and help them transition smoothly into the U.S. education system.

Teresa is an active member of Chi Alpha Epsilon Honor Society and Phi Sigma Iota, the International Foreign Language Honor Society. She is also a Susan Sutton Smith Award for Academic Excellence winner, has been on the Dean's list for three consecutive semesters, and is active in the CAMP and AOP programs and the Hispanic Organization for Learning Advancement (H.O.L.A.) club. She has been a role model and mentor to many students, including an Oneonta High School student who had just arrived in the U.S. from Mexico.

Teresa will be recognized at SUNY's virtual ceremony on Monday, Dec. 14.

The Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) is a comprehensive support program for academically disadvantaged students from low-income families in New York. EOP is one of the oldest and most successful college access programs in the nation. In 2017, EOP marked a milestone, celebrating 50 years of providing college access, success, and opportunity.