NEW YORK, NY, April 19, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leslie-Ann Reid Bacchus was 35 years old and working as a nanny when she enrolled at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY). In her second semester she joined Out in Two, a scholarship program unique to BMCC— “and that was a life changer,” she says.
Reid Bacchus, who grew up in Trinidad, has a memory from childhood that Out in Two helped her turn into a career. “There was girl with serious speech problems in our neighborhood,” she says. “It seemed a heavy burden and I always wondered if there was a way I help people in that situation.”
Now working as a speech-language pathologist at a public elementary school in East New York, Reid Bacchus has come a long way since her days as a nanny. “That kind of work didn’t give me a lot of stability,” she says. “Once I was inducted into Out in Two, the scholarship helped me with tuition and books.”
After graduating from BMCC in 2010 —valedictorian of her class — with an associate degree in liberal arts, Reid Bacchus went on to NYU, thanks to a Community College Transfer Opportunity Program (CCTOP) scholarship, and completed a bachelor’s degree in Communicative Sciences and Disorders, or speech therapy.
Next, she earned a master of science degree in Speech-Language Pathology at Brooklyn College, CUNY.
Out in Two, the BMCC scholarship program that helped Reid Bacchus make her dreams a reality, turns 20 this year, and has helped more than 500 exceptional students graduate three times faster than the national average.
On May 16, 6 p.m. at Cipriano, 25 Broadway in lower Manhattan, the BMCC Foundation board will host the 2019 Gala, Invest in a Future, Celebrate Success.
A highlight of the program will be recognition of the Out in Two 20th-year anniversary, and current Out in Two scholars as well as alumni will be on hand to meet guests and talk about their experience with the program — where they started, and where they are going.
Members of the press who would like to attend the Gala, meet Out in Two scholars and cover the event, are encouraged to contact Lynn McGee (212) 346-8523 in the BMCC Office of Public Affairs.
More About Out in Two
Out in Two has been supported by generous donations including those from the BMCC Foundation, the Derfner Foundation and the Meringoff Family Foundation. Out in Two has achieved an overall graduation rate of 83.23 percent over two years, as compared to the national average of 22 percent.
Grouped into small cohorts, each Out in Two scholar meets with a dedicated academic counselor. They receive $1,600 per semester for three semesters, and each semester receive a $200 book stipend and are required to contribute at least seven hours of community service.
While the program does not have an income qualifier, the Out in Two scholars are representative of the broader BMCC student body, in which 53 percent come from families with incomes of $20,000 or less a year, well below the poverty line. Also, more than half are first in their families to attend college.
Since its inception, an average of 90 percent of Out in Two scholars have transferred to prestigious colleges such as Columbia University, New York University, Vassar College and Cornell University. They have transferred to CUNY colleges including Baruch College, Hunter College and John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) and enrolls over 26,000 degree-seeking and 10,000 continuing education students a year, awarding associate degrees in more than 50 fields. BMCC ranks #5 among community colleges nationwide in granting associate degrees to minority students, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. Visit: http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu.