“WE’RE DOING A LOT OF TRAILBLAZING AND IT’S NOT

ALWAYS EASY, BUT YOU HAVE TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD.”

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First lady Kim Alfultis (left) is leading the charge to build relationships between prospective female students and alumnae. Nearly 30 graduates, including Amie Carter ’00, have stepped forward to help.

A new wave of WOMEN

Over a breakfast that included first lady Kim Alfultis’ famous

brownies, a group of female Maritime students answered dozens of questions from prospective students and families about campus life, academics and potential careers.

“It’s nice to share this information with other girls, to tell them that SUNY Maritime is an option and girls like it here,” said junior Rachel DeFroda.

Quarters One has never before played a part in Accepted Students Day, but Rear Adm. Michael Alfultis and his wife

opened it that chilly Saturday to welcome the new women to campus. It will not be the last time they do so.

Momentum is growing to increase female enrollment.

Since 2010, women have made up 10 to 12 percent of the student body. Campus administrators are working to double that number in five years.

Part of their effort is an ambassador program, led by Mrs. Alfultis, to pair prospective students with female graduates who have offered to serve as mentors and guides.

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complete, it is too early to say how successful the first several months of effort have been.

For almost all of its history, the college has been all male. The first woman, Marjorie Murtagh, was admitted in 1972. In 1974, seven women were admitted to the college and its regiment of cadets.

In the 44 years since, the female population has grown, but has been stalled.

“Historically, this college and the maritime industry have been dominated by men. There is no reason for that to continue,” said Rohan Howell, dean of Admissions. “Adding diversity to our campus creates a variety of perspectives that benefits all of us – as individuals, as a college and as an industry.”

In response to a call from Mrs. Alfultis, nearly 30 alumnae offered to serve as ambassadors. The first graduate is from the class of 1978; the most recent received her degree last year.

“I wanted to give something back. I thought this was a great opportunity to mentor and encourage women to go to SUNY Maritime because it’s a great school,” said Sandy Kobasa Brown ’87, whose son is a Maritime student. “If I can help to get a few more students here and raise the profile of the school, that’s something I want to do.”

Each alumna who responded to Mrs. Alfultis’ call was paired with four or five accepted students. Via email, they contacted the students to answer questions and offer guidance.

Another ambassador, Marissa Danzy ’10 (right),

talks to a prospective student at the breakfast

at Quarters One on Accepted Students Day.

“These alumnae are passionate about the school, they are passionate about the maritime industry. They are falling over themselves to help,” she said. “Now the admitted students can talk to someone who can be a mentor. That networking is so great.”

The networking is in its infancy, but it seems to be working.

“I’m hopeful that we can bump up the female population one or two percent this year,” Mrs. Alfultis said. “I think it could happen. That little bit of extra attention can go a long way.”

The number of accepted female students did increase for the class of 2020 over the class of 2019. Until the fall enrollment headcount is

“THESE ALUMNAE ARE PASSIONATE

ABOUT THE SCHOOL, THEY

ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT THE

MARITIME INDUSTRY. THEY

ARE FALLING OVER THEMSELVES TO

HELP.”

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Prospective students visit with a student organization representative at the activities fair during Accepted Students Day.

“I don’t mind staying in touch with all of my mentees if they need to talk or text; I love the students,” said Amie Carter ’00. “Now that we are 16 years out, my classmates and I are so glad we graduated from this school. I want to be there for the moments when these students want to quit, to encourage them to keep going.

“They need to see this is a viable career option,” she said.

Many of the alumnae ambassadors say they are one of a few women in their work environments. They aim to correct the imbalance by increasing the pipeline of women entering the maritime industry.

“It’s important that people see women working in the fields these girls are studying. We

didn’t have that when I was a student,” said Carter. “You can’t talk to some of these women and not be impressed.”

The ambassador program is based on the Alfultis’ experience at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, where female enrollment jumped from 10 to 30 percent. The change took about 20 years, according to the Coast Guard Academy. Rear Adm. and Mrs. Alfultis served as mentors to Coast Guard students when he was a professor there and those relationships have endured for years.

The ambassador program is not the only effort to make women feel more at home at SUNY Maritime. Current students, including DeFroda, have stepped up to make the campus more welcoming.

To introduce high school students to the college and maritime world, a group of 15 women have created a program with the Admissions office called Sisters Taking Action for Recruitment. The group’s members plan to travel with counselors in the fall to local college fairs. This spring, they conducted two calling campaigns to talk to prospective students.

While STAR is focused on recruitment, another organization is focused on retention. Big Sisters, begun by freshman Olga Papaeconomou, will partner incoming students with upperclassmen to help them navigate the college.

“I think it’s important that girls have resources they can go to,” Papaeconomou said.

“Being a girl at this school, we’re only 10 percent of the student body and it can be hard. I think it’s important to have females supporting females.”

The two student organizations will work together to help new students. When they can, the young women say they hope to offer networking sessions and seminars with alumnae about life after graduation, as well as to host meetings, meals and weekend camping trips.

“We’re doing a lot of trailblazing and it’s not always easy, but you have to keep moving forward,” Carter said. “I have a lot of respect for the admiral and his wife and what they’re trying to do. This is what the school needs. This is what the students need.”

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