Accounting Major Earns SUNY EOP Award

Ms. Cristina Buri, a SUNY Old Westbury senior majoring in Accounting from the Bronx, New York, has earned the Norman R. McConney Jr. Award for Student Excellence from the State University of New York. One of only 52 Educational Opportunity Program students across the state to earn the award, Buri was recognized for outstanding academic merit and perseverance.

"Today, we celebrate the resilience and success of our SUNY EOP students.," said SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. during the awards presentation. "Each student we celebrate today has shown strength time and time again in pursuit of an education that will open the doors of opportunity and upward mobility."

The honor is named in memory of Norman R. McConney, Jr. (1946-2016), a graduate of the University at Albany and former assistant dean for special programs at SUNY. McConney, alongside former Assembly Deputy Speaker Arthur O. Eve, helped create the EOP as a statewide program.

President Timothy E. Sams with Cristina Buri.

Buri, who will graduate this May with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, has a 3.6 G.P.A. and plans to earn a Master's in Taxation at Old Westbury in the future. She was on the Dean's List and a member of the SUNY Old Westbury Accounting Society and the Collegiate Science Training Entry Program (CSTEP) and joined the Omicron Delta Kappa Student Leadership Honor Society. Buri is also a member of the New York State Society of CPAs.

Since its inception in 1967, the EOP has provided access, academic support, and supplemental financial assistance to students from disadvantaged backgrounds, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college. In its 57-year history, the EOP has served more than 80,000 students and evolved into one of the country's most successful college access programs. In many cases participants outperform their peers, with 68 percent of EOP students completing a bachelor's degree within six years. Since the program's inception, more than 85,000 EOP students have earned SUNY degrees, participate in the workforce and contribute to the social and economic well-being of their communities.

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