MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – Four SUNY Orange students have been selected to participate in the highly competitive 2025 Vassar College Exploring Transfer (ET) Program, a five-week academic experience designed to empower first-generation college students to consider transfer to top-tier four-year liberal arts institutions.

Scheduled for June 23 to July 25, the program offers participants the chance to take two college-level courses which include five hours of classwork and workshops five days a week, broken into two-hour blocks. Students will earn the equivalent of at least six Vassar credits and experience a broader range of academic opportunities than might otherwise have been possible. Each accepted student receives a scholarship to the Exploring Transfer program that completely covers tuition, room, meals and books.

Preferred selection criteria include being a first-generation college student, having a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher (though students with lower GPAs were considered), completing Freshman English I, and earning at least 24 non-developmental college credits.

Mohua Gazi, a liberal arts student and Monticello High School graduate, will take two elective courses through the Vassar program. “I loved getting to know different people, settling in, and had a lot of amazing professors who helped me with assignments,” Gazi said about her SUNY Orange experience to date.

Nicole Singleton, a psychology major, grew up in Seattle and completed high school in Burbank, California. “As a first-generation college student with an unconventional background, I never believed I would be able to attend college at all. In my family, higher education was strongly discouraged. I was homeschooled from sixth grade onward and had no access to resources for pursuing further education. After moving across the country to distance myself from my past, I enrolled at SUNY Orange. The support I’ve received from SUNY Orange professors has made all the difference. Connecting with them has been the best part of my experience. Without their encouragement, I would have already given up on pursuing higher education,” she said.

Rosa Gonzalez, a Middletown resident and Middletown High School graduate, will enter SUNY Orange’s nursing program this fall. “What’s made my experience at SUNY Orange so meaningful is that the professors truly care about students’ success. It’s a safe environment and everyone feels welcome,” she said.

Angeni Jimbo, a liberal arts major and Newburgh resident, added, “Meeting new people who have inspired my academic journey has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my time at SUNY Orange.”

The Exploring Transfer Program has long been recognized for transforming students’ academic paths and giving them the tools to succeed at rigorous four-year institutions. As SUNY Orange celebrates 75 years of transforming lives through education, these four students will represent the College with distinction as they take this meaningful next step.