Congratulations to RIT’s HEOP Graduates | May 2023
Once again, RIT’s New York State Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) is seeing a record number of 2023 graduating students, according to Program Director Belinda Bryce.
Nineteen students will take part in commencement ceremonies this month. Several will leave campus and head straight to work or they have decided to continue their education with graduate school.
Bryce says, “HEOP graduation rates are impressive. For the 2015 cohort, our six-year graduation rate was 80.6% and for 2016, it was 88.9%. Our students enter RIT a bit below regular admissions criteria and yet they persist and go on to graduate and enter their fields whether though job placement or graduate school. They work really hard for these amazing accomplishments.”
Congratulations to the following HEOP students:
Christian Aguilar has a degree in computer engineering technology and will be working in the John Deere Engineering Development Program in Cary, North Carolina.
Sushil Bhattari is graduating with a degree in computer engineering technology and will be working at System Engineering, Lockheed Martin in Syracuse NY
Mohammad Eshan came to RIT and majored in computing security. He’s headed to New York City as an intermediate level engineer at BlackRock and will start graduate work in computing security at RIT this fall.
Jeison Perez is graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering technology and will begin work as a wire design engineer with Boeing in Texas.
Among those entering graduate school are:
Katerine Angeles, a biology major who is going to Purdue University Vet School.
Marie MacDonald, management information systems, will begin work on her MBA.
Santosh Pradhan, criminal justice, will continue at RIT working on a master’s in Criminal Justice.
Zhi Heng Shi computational mathematics, is headed to Columbia for a master’s in biostatistics.
Also proudly graduating in May 2023: Amina Andelija, chemistry, Mehjab Chowdhury, electrical engineering, Raven Jess, sociology & anthropology, Mesha Johnson, new media design, Christian Lewis biomedical sciences, Diamoni Peterson, chemical engineering, Christian Ramos, supply chain management, Serena Romero, business management, Madison Thompson, graphic design, Ashely Vicente, biomedical sciences and Michelle Villegas, 3D digital design.
Now in its 54th year, the New York State Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) is committed to the recruitment and academic success of historically disadvantaged students with strong academic potential and personal initiative who would otherwise be excluded from higher education at a private New York state college or university. The program provides financial, academic, and personal support to maximize student success, and it pays off--HEOP’s graduation rates have exceeded RIT’s six of the last eight years.