Omar Cunningham Receives Norman R. McConney Jr. Award for EOP Student Excellence

May 21, 2024

Business Administration student Omar Cunningham is the Hudson Valley Community College recipient of the 2024 Norman R. McConney Jr. Award for Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) Student Excellence. He was recognized for his academic achievements, along with 51 other SUNY students, at a ceremony held on April 18 in Albany.

SUNY Educational Opportunity Programs provide access, academic support and financial aid to students who show promise for succeeding in college. The Award for EOP Student Excellence recognizes the academic and personal achievements of outstanding EOP students from colleges and universities across the SUNY system.

Cunningham graduated in Fall 2023 with a Business Administration degree and he is continuing his education at the University at Albany.

While at Hudson Valley, he served as president, peer mentor and peer leader for the EOP Club, as well as a member of the Student Senate executive board, the Business Club and was co-founder and president of the Chess Club. He was a peer leader for the 2023 EOP summer program and an EOP peer mentor during the fall 2024 semester.

The SUNY Award for EOP Student Excellence is awarded in memory of Norman R. McConney Jr., who, along with former NYS Assembly Deputy Speaker Arthur O. Eve, helped to establish the Educational Opportunity Program in 1967.

For more information about Hudson Valley's Educational Opportunity Program, visit www.hvcc.edu/eop.