Huntington, NY - April 12th, 2016 - Suffolk County Community College graduate Quinn Favilla had not planned on attending college at Suffolk.
Favilla’s plan included wrapping up a successful senior year at East Islip High School where she had excelled both academically and athletically as a member of the track team and then to attend one of the many college’s she had been accepted to that were offering her considerable scholarship money.
In Favilla’s grand plan, she would attend Binghamton University and run Division 1 track after her 2012 high school graduation.
Then fate intervened. A running injury caused Favilla to rethink where should would attend college.
“It didn’t make sense to spend the money, go into debt, and go away to a D1 school and not be able to do what I originally was going away for,” Favilla said. “Plus, I still needed to see a doctor for my injury, and needed physical therapy. My dad convinced me to go to Suffolk for a year and try it out.”
It was at Suffolk that Favilla acquired a love of math and ultimately was awarded the Frey Family Foundation Scholarship that paid for her continuing studies at Stony Brook University where she is now a senior finishing her degree in Applied Mathematics and Statistics and interning at a computer technology company in Manhattan.
Favilla recently met Robert Frey of Port Jefferson, who will be honored by Suffolk County Community College at its annual Salute to Excellence Gala on May 5.
Favilla was overjoyed to meet the benefactor whose scholarship allowed her to continue her studies. The Frey Family Foundation Scholarship awarded to mathematics majors provides $20,000 per academic year to deserving students.
“The scholarship has provided nearly $270,000 in awards since 2004 to 30 students,” said Sylvia A. Diaz, Ph.D., LMSW, executive director of the Suffolk Community College Foundation.
“You not only helped me financially,” Favilla told Frey, “but you reminded me of what it feels like to be a winner again. Your scholarship helped me pay for my entire first semester at Stony Brook University, freeing me up to work and save for my senior year, and now I am debt free. Awarding me that scholarship reminded me of what it felt like to be a success in something after putting in hard work, determination and effort. After I got injured, I didn’t know if I’d ever get that winning feeling again and it felt good. You reminded me that I can achieve anything I set my mind to and work hard to achieve it, and I carried that over with me to Stony Brook University, where I’ve continued to work, learn and succeed. Suffolk was, and always will be, considered the building block to the start of my success,” Favilla said.
“Despite being one of the most affordable colleges in New York, the Suffolk Community College Foundation awarded nearly $600,000 in scholarships and aid to students last year. The annual gala helps raise a significant amount of the funds the foundation awards through merit and need-based scholarships,” Diaz said.
Suffolk Community College Foundation’s Annual Salute to Excellence Gala 2016, Suffolk County Community College: The Bridge to Opportunity is on Thursday, May 5, 2016 at the Hilton Long Island in Huntington. Tickets and information are available on SUNY Suffolk's event website, or by contacting Renee Ortiz at 631-451-4321.
