Two graduates attribute success to Student Support Services

Jeffrey Ambroise almost stayed back a year in elementary school. Growing up in a household speaking mostly Haitian Creole, he struggled to keep up with classes in English. Now he’s graduating from UConn with a degree in psychology and will go to graduate school in the fall.

Jeffrey Ambroise, of the SSS program, outside the CUE Building.

Photo by Frank Dahlmeyer

Ambroise, a first-generation college student, grew up in public housing in Stamford. The oldest son in his family, he resolved to set a good example for his younger siblings and, as he says, “create a future.”

He studied hard, brought up his grades, and set his heart on attending a “big-time” college. When the time came, he applied only to UConn.

Ambroise spent his first six weeks on the Storrs campus attending a seven-credit summer program through Student Support Services (SSS), and has been part of SSS ever since.

Carlton Jones of Stamford had hoped to attend Central Connecticut State University. But when the admissions tour he planned to take was full, he took a tour of UConn instead.

He “fell in love with the campus,” he says, and wrote his application essay the same week. The letter of admission to the University included a recommendation that he join the SSS program.

SSS, part of UConn’s Center for Academic Programs, helps low-income and first-generation students adjust to college life, beginning the summer before freshman year and continuing until graduation. Services offered include academic advising, peer tutoring, financial aid advice, short-term loans for books or other emergencies, and career counseling.

Jones and Ambroise, who each have a GPA of about a 3.0, say SSS not only helped them succeed academically, it provided community within the UConn community and helped them identify their career paths.

“It’s a good way to meet a lot of people,” says Jones. “You get to know about 100 people by being part of SSS.

“If not for SSS,” he adds, “I wouldn’t be at UConn, I wouldn’t have become a peer advisor, and I wouldn’t have found my career path.”

Through SSS, in his freshman year he was paired with a peer advisor who was president of SUBOG at the time. Jones also became active with the organization. After a couple of years assisting with SUBOG activities, Jones was selected as SUBOG president for his senior year. A sociology major, he plans to pursue a career in student affairs, starting with a master’s program at Central.