Brianna Agront ’21 Receives the SUNY EOP Norman R. McConney, Jr. Award

EOP Senior Brianna Agront was chosen to receive the 2020 Norman R. McConney, Jr. Award for EOP Student Excellence, honored for her perseverance. 

The award, which bears the name of the late Norman McConney, one of the architects of the statewide Educational Opportunity Program and a champion of youth empowerment, celebrates EOP students who have overcome significant obstacles in life to achieve their educational and personal goals.

Agront, a double major earning a BA in Journalism and a BS in Communication, works two jobs and volunteers while earning above a 3.0 GPA. She has held leadership roles such as Student Orientation Leader and EOP Peer Mentor. She’s also served as a TA for College Writing.

“We selected Brianna for her perseverance in the face of adversity, the true epitome of an EOP scholar,” says Paul Nicholson, director of EOP/MAPS program. “She succeeds academically, but also gives back to the program by serving as a peer mentor. She is truly one of our best.”

A virtual ceremony hosted by SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras took place on Monday, December 14, 2020 to honor Brianna and all of the worthy award recipients.

“Each of these students has a story that deserves to be heard; they are outstanding scholars who have displayed great strength and tenacity in their pursuit of academic success, amid what is often extreme personal hardships,” says Chancellor Malatras. “It is for them that SUNY’s Educational Opportunity Program exists, and it is at the heart of our mission to level the playing field and give every student a fair chance to succeed. My congratulations to our honorees for earning this recognition as they prepare to graduate and start to change the world—I look forward to seeing what they do next. Norman McConney would be very proud of each and every one of them.”