For Immediate Release
September 19, 2025

Suffolk County Community College Showcases Impact of New SUNY Student Success Program

Photo Caption (left-to-right): Dr. Gerome Bell, ASAP Program Director, Sonya Lorrain, ASAP Academic Advisor, Omowunmi Adebajo, Julio Salgado, Yuriko Castillo, Lorraine De Leon, ASAP Academic Advisor, and Dr. Edward Bonahue, President of Suffolk County Community College. For a hi-res image, visit: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ACX1jFoSwV6q3Jy97

Suffolk County Community College recently hosted a press conference to highlight its expanded participation in SUNY’s Advancing Success in Associate Pathways (ASAP) program, a transformative program aimed at removing barriers to degree completion and increasing student success. The event highlighted the comprehensive support provided through ASAP to students, which includes financial assistance, personalized academic advising, career development, and community-building activities designed to help students overcome obstacles to timely graduation.

SUNY ASAP launched in spring 2024 with 4,200 students at 25 campuses thanks to support from New York Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature through the historic $75-million SUNY Transformation Fund, demonstrating their commitment to improving student success across the state. The program is part of SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. and the SUNY Board of Trustees’ vision of advancing student success and upward mobility within the SUNY system. In May 2025, Gov. Hochul and the state Legislature established $12 million in recurring funding to help support SUNY’s expansion to 7,050 students in fall 2025 on the path to 10,000 students by fall 2026. As the largest community college within the SUNY system, this additional funding enabled SUNY Suffolk to extend its program in 2025 from support for 150 students to support for 250 ASAP students in its program.

The early metrics for Suffolk’s ASAP program reflects promising indicators of success. The program continues to demonstrate outstanding results, including an 87% student persistence rate and an overall program cohort GPA of 3.2. Suffolk was also commended by SUNY for having 47% of its students enroll in at least one summer course in summer 2025, maintaining their academic momentum toward timely degree completion. In addition, 25% of Suffolk’s spring 2024 cohort earned their degree this past spring and summer, with another 17% anticipated to graduate in January 2026. Notably, 18.8% of the students are parents balancing college with family responsibilities. SUNY’s investment in the program also provides greater support for enrollment growth, staffing, and long-term program sustainability.

Dr. Edward Bonahue, President of Suffolk County Community College, opened the event by discussing the college’s commitment to student success and added, “ASAP removes financial barriers, provides structured pathways to help students gain and maintain academic momentum, and creates connected communities through integrated supports and engagement activities - all in service of dramatically increasing timely completion rates for participating students.”

During the press conference, three students shared their personal stories, illustrating how ASAP’s comprehensive offerings are empowering them to reach their educational goals. 

The first student speaker, Yuriko Castillo, a resident of Hauppauge, NY and a Photography major in her final semester at the Michael J. Grant Campus, is a talented artist, who has earned numerous awards, including an Honorable Mention in last spring’s student exhibition. She was recently awarded the Frank Livernoche Scholarship. Castillo has maintained a 4.0 GPA while also raising her children. She said, "The ASAP program has helped me in many ways—providing funds toward tuition, books, and transportation, early registration, and access to dedicated tutors. As a parent, I have also benefited from Brightway Foundation support for daycare and related expenses."

The second student speaker, Julio Salgado, is a Michael J. Grant Campus student from Bay Shore in his first semester of ASAP. Currently majoring in General Studies, he plans to switch to Criminal Justice. "Being a part of the ASAP program has made my Suffolk experience much smoother," he said. "The financial support is important, but the best part is connecting with my academic advisor, who listens to my goals and helps guide me through the semester."

The third student speaker, Omowunmi Adebajo, from Coram, NY, is completing her final semester at Suffolk majoring in Liberal Arts and Sciences: General Studies at the Ammerman Campus. She will earn her A.A. degree in January 2026. She has already been accepted into the Helene Fuld College of Nursing’s LPN-to-RN program, where she attends classes weekly. Even though she could have started full-time this semester, she chose to finish her degree at Suffolk. She currently works in a rehab center as an LPN and balances work, school and caring for her children. In her remarks, she added, "Any program can provide financial aid, but, Dr. Gerome Bell, ASAP Program Director, and Sonya Lorrain, ASAP Academic Advisor, are always there offering support and inspiration. When I was going through a crisis, they encouraged me. My education would not be complete without ASAP."

For more information about the ASAP program at Suffolk County Community College, please visit: https://www.sunysuffolk.edu/current-students/asap.jsp  

About Suffolk County Community College

Suffolk County Community College is the largest, most comprehensive community college in the State University of New York (SUNY) system, enrolling more than 26,000 students in over 100 degree and certificate programs. With approximately 145,000 alumni, Suffolk County Community College is dedicated to meeting the demands of regional employers. The college has built an extensive track record of successfully training and educating its students through pathways from high school to college and into careers.

About SUNY

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.16 billion in fiscal year 2024, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit www.suny.edu.