Suffolk County Community College grad Ivanna Moreno headed to Columbia University
Recent Suffolk County Community College graduate Ivanna Moreno, 24, is set to attend Columbia University in the fall. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
When Ivanna Moreno enrolled at Suffolk County Community College six years ago, she felt lost.
The Brentwood resident, now 24, started taking classes at SCCC in the spring of 2020. She studied engineering but quickly realized it was not her passion. When the pandemic began in March of that year, she said she decided to quit to work and try to save for tuition.
Four years later, she returned to college. This time, she knew what she wanted to do: The film buff, who had performed in theater as a child, enrolled in SCCC's radio and television program.
With her newfound focus, she got to work. That effort has paid off. This fall, Moreno will head to Columbia University with plans to major in film and media studies — believed to be one of only two SCCC students in this year's graduating class to be accepted to an Ivy League college.
"When I started, I had no idea I would be going into Columbia, but I am excited," Moreno said.
Ivanna Moreno at SCCC's Grant campus in Brentwood. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
Tatiana Velasco, a senior researcher at the Community College Research Center, said transferring from a community college to an Ivy League school is an exceptional accomplishment.
Just a third of community college graduates choose to continue their studies. Of those, she said, "Only 20% go to a private, four-year institution and a small percentage goes to an Ivy."
An SCCC representative said a second student attended classes at the community college but transferred to Brown University before graduating.
'Everybody feels welcome'
Moreno credited her mentors at the college and her fellow Phi Theta Kappa members, who encouraged her to apply to SCCC's honors program. Phi Theta Kappa is an international honor society for two-year colleges that recognizes the top 10% of students according to academic achievement.
The honors program, founded in 1985, enrolls about 400 students at SCCC. Its mission is to teach students the skills they will need to gain acceptance to prestigious schools. For example, Moreno said program staff helped prepare her to write college application essays.
The SCCC program's coordinator, Albin Cofone, said in the past three years, nine students have gone on to Ivy League schools.
"The honors program is really about options, and we’re very proud of that because most of our student body comes from working-class backgrounds, immigrant backgrounds and these kids really do get a leg up in American society," Cofone said. He added, "We give them a sense that it really is possible to go to some of the most incredible schools."
Moreno also has the distinction of creating the first-ever documentary produced by the college's radio and television program.
In one of her classes last year, she said she proposed a documentary about sociopolitical conflicts in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Moreno said that her professor loved the idea and pushed her to film it.
Moreno and her professor are now submitting the documentary to film festivals to spread awareness and see if they can win awards.
She said the support she has received at SCCC has prepared her for the future.
"Everybody feels welcome, everybody is encouraged to be the best version of themselves, and I believe that’s like one of the most beautiful environments you can be in," she said.
Looking ahead to her studies at Columbia, Moreno said she’s a little scared to get out of her comfort zone but she's also excited.
"I feel very happy to be given this opportunity, and I’m just going to take it," she said.
