By Andrea Fernandes
Features Assignment Editor
Select students of the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) were honored for their outstanding academic achievements on Monday, Sept. 8.
Each year, the staff of HEOP holds an Honors/XAE Reception in the Trustees Room of Doyle Hall. Students who are part of the program are recognized for having a GPA of a 2.5 or higher from the previous semester.
“We host the reception annually because we like to recognize and reward our students who put their academics first,” Bridget Kehrer, HEOP Director, said. “We use it as a motivational tool.”
HEOP students who did not receive a GPA of at least a 2.5 are still required to attend the event. Kehrer believes when students see their peers being recognized for their academic achievements, it motivates them to put more focus into their studies so that they too will be recognized at the next reception.
Honorees are always encouraged to invite their professors and staff member to help celebrate their accomplishments. Along with a few professors present at the event, Mike Fisher, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, attended the reception and also assisted Kehrer in distributing certificates to the students who were honored.
“Holding [the reception] also shows the university community what our students are capable of, the potential that they have and what they achieve” Kehrer said.
At the reception, Kehrer announced the average grades of students in each class to show the accomplishments of HEOP students as a whole. She revealed that 100 percent of the current students in the program are in good academic standing and on track to graduate. Eighty-four percent of the program’s students were recognized for their academic achievements for the spring 2014 semester.
Those inducted into Chi Alpha Epsilon were also recognized at the reception. Chi Alpha Epsilon is a national honor society that recognizes academic excellence among HEOP students in the state of New York.
“Chi Alpha Epsilon aims to acknowledge students who have a 3.0 for two consecutive semesters,” Shyanne Wester, a senior journalism and mass communication major, said.
The Vice President of Chi Alpha Epsilon at St. Bonaventure University, Wester believes being inducted into the society is a significant accomplishment. Wester reflected on how proud she felt after being inducted into the society after her spring semester. She hopes that the students inducted this year are just as proud as she was.
“It is important that we recognize the consistency of students who are a part of HEOP,” Wester said. “People need to see that students who are part of HEOP can be consistent and can succeed academically.
The new members of Chi Alpha Epsilon include: Freddy Alvarez, David Bryant, Paola Foy, Miguel Lopez, Jean Carlos Rodriguez, Jonathon Gallegos, Jeffry Gutierrez and Ashley Jordan.
Wester has high hopes of seeing more HEOP students being honored at the reception and even higher hopes of having more students inducted into Chi Alpha Epsilon.
fernanal13@bonaventure.edu
