Supporting Green The Path Forward campaign provides students with vital scholarship support
Jose Angel Reyes Munoz ’22 and his wife, Viktorija Andra Reyes ’14 M’15, listed all their household and family expenses with their four children, examined all sources of income and recognized that they needed another source of income. Otherwise, one of two things would happen: They would fall behind on their bills or Jose could no longer continue toward his goal of earning a college degree and becoming a science teacher.
Didem Demir ’20 of Istanbul, Turkey, dreamed of attending a college in America, and thanks to her strong academic record in high school, she earned academic scholarships that enabled her to enroll at SUNY Oswego to study marketing. Then in 2018, Turkey experienced a currency and debt crisis that had the Turkish Lira plunging in value, reaching record lows against the U.S. dollar. Financing her education suddenly became a pressing issue for her and her family.
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The Path FORWARD Thankfully, all three students received privately funded scholarships from the Oswego College Foundation that helped keep their life’s trajectory on course and ensured that they could take advantage of all the opportunities afforded by a SUNY Oswego education. In November 2019, SUNY Oswego President Deborah F. Stanley announced a new college-wide priority, The Path Forward, to help provide more scholarship support to Lakers like Jose, Didem and Keith. The campaign seeks to double the number of privately funded, need-based scholarships available for students from 220 to 440 by June 30, 2021. To date, a total of more than 100 new scholarships have been created in this campaign. “I continue to be impressed with the way our loyal alumni rally around the college to address an articulated need for support,” said Michael Durney ‘83, chair of the Oswego College Foundation. “For many of us, SUNY Oswego created a pathway to our successful careers, and we continually hear how grateful our alumni are for their Oswego education. Whenever possible, they express that gratitude by supporting the college and our current students. On behalf of the foundation, I thank them for their generosity and leadership in paving the way for the next generation.”
As a double major in human resource management and sociology, Keith Loh ’20 kept a full academic course load and tried to get involved in as many activities as he could. But with two campus jobs with Auxiliary Services and Campus Life, he didn’t have as much time for the extracurricular experiences as he would have liked.
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Learn more at oswego.edu/pathforward
Tracing Paths Back to Oswego “The only way I could afford college was through Pell Grants and student loans,” said Jim Triandiflou ’88, retired CEO of Relias Learning in Cary, N.C., and a benefactor of the newly created James Triandilou ’88 Scholarships. “In my company we hire many new college grads who have tens of thousands of dollars in loans. This financial burden is stressful and also makes it harder for kids to do things that contribute to independence and happiness. The Path Forward campaign helps those with the greatest need go to college with less stress and begin their aftercollege life free to chase their dreams!” Jim attributes much of his own success to his foundational experiences and education at SUNY Oswego. (continued on next page)
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