For some college students, the biggest obstacle to academic success isn’t a lack of ambition, but a lack of access to the resources that can help them get there.

Brian Amaya knows what that feels like. Growing up in Great Neck, a community often associated with affluence and educational opportunity, the 21-year-old said he sometimes felt left behind as one of a handful of Hispanic students in his predominantly Jewish and Asian schools. While some classmates could turn to private tutors when they struggled academically, that option was financially out of reach for his family.

Now a senior accounting major at SUNY Old Westbury, Amaya is turning those experiences into an opportunity to help others facing similar challenges. Selected for a second consecutive year as a SUNY Educational Opportunity Program ambassador, he mentors students, tutors classmates and advocates for greater access to higher education across New York.

“I use the opportunity to serve as an example that any student shouldn’t feel that they cannot have access to higher education and they can’t enrich their lives because they’ve been given the short end of the stick,” Amaya said.

His own challenges began in high school. During his junior year, Amaya struggled with Algebra II and realized he needed additional help beyond the classroom. Although his teacher offered after-school sessions, he found the group setting did not provide the individualized instruction he needed.

Some classmates received private tutoring, but paying for outside services would have placed an additional financial burden on his family.