Recent Human Services Graduate Earns McConney Award for Student Excellence

Congratulations to Najaya Knuckles who was recently recognized as a recipient of the Norman R. McConney, Jr. Award for Student Excellence. She was one of 50 students in SUNY's Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) honored with the award that recognizes outstanding EOP students from SUNY campuses for their academic merit and perseverance. 

Najaya, who graduated with her degree in Human Services in December 2024 and is a 2020 graduate of Schenectady High School, has decided to turn a lifechanging loss into a career of helping others. Two days before her 19^th birthday, Najaya’s mother Latricia Gholson passed away. She decided to work, process the immeasurable absence of her mother the best she could, and think about what she wanted to study in college. In Fall 2022, she decided to enroll in the Teacher Education Transfer program at SUNY Schenectady with the goal of becoming a kindergarten teacher. But as she took the courses in the program, she realized that she wanted to help young adults who have suffered a loss similar to hers instead.

She changed her major to Human Services and this fall she plans to pursue her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Social Work at the University at Albany. Her goal is to become a Child Grief Therapist. “When my mother passed, I didn’t have a lot of people there for me. I had to figure out how to grieve on my own,” Najaya shared. “I want to help young people going through a similar event.”

While attending SUNY Schenectady full time, Najaya also worked full time as a Resident Care Aide for individuals with Alzheimer’s and dementia at Peregrine Senior Living in Albany, where she continues to work today. She was also active in the EOP Club as its Vice President and was Vice President of the Student Government Association for a semester.

Najaya reflects on her recent award and her plans for the future, saying something her mother used to tell her: “By being yourself, you put something beautiful into the world.”

“I am constantly reminded of the profound impact SUNY's Educational Opportunity Program has had on countless lives. The stories, triumphs, and unwavering determination of SUNY's EOP students serve as beacons of hope and inspiration for future generations of students,” said SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. 

The award is named in memory of Norman R. McConney, Jr. (1946–2016), a graduate of the University at Albany and former assistant dean for special programs at SUNY. McConney, alongside former Assembly Deputy Speaker Arthur O. Eve, helped create the EOP as a statewide program.