ASAP students share stories of support, encouragement

Students in the SUNY Advancing Success in Associate Pathways (ASAP) program have access to resources and support to keep them on track toward a degree.

Finger Lakes Community College recently marked the first year of its fully scaled SUNY Advancing Success in Associate Pathways (ASAP) program, which is showing early signs of helping students overcome barriers to education.

Nissa Youngren, ASAP assistant director, and success coach Bryce Preston talk with a student while handing out ASAP merchandise The program supports students pursuing associate degrees. Eligible students have access to resources and support to keep them on track toward a degree. This includes funding to cover textbooks, groceries, transportation, and childcare, as well as comprehensive personalized advisement, academic support, and career development.

FLCC currently has 150 students enrolled in the ASAP program. It launched the program spring 2024 with 35 students and expanded to 150 students in fall 2024.

Initial data shows that ASAP students are more likely to stay in school than the general population:

• 75.2 percent of all FLCC’s matriculated students were retained from fall 2024 to spring 2025
• 83.9 percent of students enrolled in the ASAP program were retained from fall 2024 to spring 2025

Student stories

Chinemere Ezeani, left, and Winter Higgs Several students enrolled in ASAP shared their personal stories at a special event on Oct. 1, including Chinemere Ezeani of Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County, a business administration major.

Chinemere’s sister, Nneoma, joined ASAP in spring 2025. When Chinemere and her twin sister, Oluchi, came to FLCC this fall, they joined, too. Chinemere said she appreciates the support and direction she gets from Nissa Youngren, ASAP assistant director, and success coach Bryce Preston.

“I feel motivated, I feel organized, I feel like I transitioned perfectly to this school. I feel comfortable,” she said.

Winter Higgs, a paralegal student from the Bronx, joined the ASAP program in spring 2025. It has provided additional financial aid for groceries, and the coaches helped her land an internship over the summer.

“My experience with SUNY ASAP has been wonderful. Not only have they given me financial support, they have given me academic support. Just having Nissa and Bryce, a team of good people, to care about my success and education means everything to me.”

Nayalis Echevarria, left, and her mother Maria Lopez Maria Lopez, a Rushville resident studying liberal arts, returned to college after an extended break. She decided to return for self-fulfillment, to be a role model to her children, and to build a more secure life. One of her three daughters, Nayalis Echevarria, also started at FLCC this fall as part of ASAP. 

“Nissa and Bryce have been my biggest advocates, my biggest helpers. When I’ve come to them to say, ‘I want to quit,’ both of them tell me to keep going,” Maria said.

Mary Hickman of Colton, a culinary arts student, appreciates the additional financial aid and ability to stop in and talk to the ASAP coaches.

ASAP participant Evelyn Mack of Seneca Falls is a creative writing student. The program she said, “really has made my experience at FLCC a lot better than if it didn’t exist in the first place.”

Cody Thomas, an environmental science student from Rochester, learned about the program from a friend. “They help me a lot with everything. They’re so easy to talk to,” he said.

Jeff Davis is a business administration major from Bloomfield. “Nissa and Bryce have been extremely helpful. They provide advice and made it a smooth transition to the college experience.”

More information on ASAP is available online at flcc.edu/suny-asap.