NJ Students Honored for Academic Achievement in EOF Ceremony
1,465 graduates, including 328 from Rutgers, receive awards
For 56 years, New Jersey’s Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) has helped thousands of students in need of financial assistance and educational support services attain college degrees in New Jersey. Nearly 1,500 of the newest graduates to benefit from the program, including 328 from Rutgers, were honored on April 19 at Jersey Mike’s Arena at Rutgers University.
“Every year as we send into the world remarkable students like you, who have been given a valuable opportunity, seized it, and turned it into a college degree, we come closer to fulfilling the promise of New Jersey,” Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway said at the OSHE/EOF Graduate Achievement Ceremony.
Holloway joined Lt. Gov. and Secretary of State Tahesha L. Way and EOF Executive Director Hasani Carter as speakers at the annual event, which was hosted by the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education and the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS).
“To be gathered here this morning, in this arena, preparing to earn your college degree and having a strong GPA besides, means you not only survived the pandemic’s challenges—you overcame them and thrived as a college student,” added Holloway, whose first year at Rutgers coincided with many of the graduates’ first year. “We couldn’t be prouder.”
EOF provides financial assistance and support services, including counseling, tutoring and developmental course work, to students from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds who attend one of the 42 participating institutions of higher education in the State of New Jersey. Undergraduate grants range from $200 annually to $3,050 annually depending on the type of institution and financial need. These grants are renewable based upon continued eligibility.
Amanda Bachan, a first-generation Rutgers-New Brunswick student graduating with a degree in ecology, evolution and natural resources who will pursue a master’s degree in business and science – life sciences at Rutgers Business School, praised the EOF program as “a community of scholars with shared academic aspirations that understand and support each other.”
The EOF was created by law in 1968 to ensure meaningful access to higher education for those who come from backgrounds of economic and educational disadvantage. In addition to financial aid support, participating students receive some form of advisement/counseling, tutoring, supplemental instruction, student leadership development, summer/pre-first-year bridge program experiences and academic guidance.
Jacqueline S. Moore, Rutgers SEBS EOF director, welcomed the graduates and their families and friends to the ceremony. Also addressing the gathering were N.J. Assemblywoman Linda S. Carter (D-22), Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-15) and Byron Ward, EOF board chair.
