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When junior Cody Beckwith took a job as a work study in the Financial Aid Office at Fredonia, he never dreamed he would have an impact on thousands of college students across the state for years to come.

That is exactly what happened when Beckwith and eight other Fredonia students were involved in an effort to ensure the state’s Higher Education Services Corp. Excelsior Scholarship application process was easy to understand for all students.

“We went through the original application as it was set up by SUNY and gave them feedback on everything from the kinds of questions being asked to technical issues with the page,” Beckwith said. “It was a really important that it worked out for everyone, including me.”

Especially important to Beckwith, a Computer Science major, because he is now an Excelsior Scholarship recipient.

Beckwith and the eight other Fredonia students gave the feedback to SUNY officials in Albany on a June 6 conference call. The website was scheduled to go live the next day.

“After we gave the feedback, (SUNY personnel) went back in and immediately went in and fixed it,” Beckwith said. “They made it more understandable and accessible. They took out several questions that weren’t relevant. They also fixed an issue with one of the browsers. It was a much-improved process.”

"The Fredonia focus group of nine students played a major role in both the testing and launching of The Excelsior Scholarship application,” said Daniel M. Tramuta, Fredonia’s associate vice president for Enrollment Services. “The quality feedback that this group provided to HESC, the state agency charged with administering the Excelsior Scholarship program, resulted in last minute enhancements to the online application that benefitted tens of thousands of students across New York State. We are so proud to call them Fredonia students.”

The other Fredonia students who were part of the test group were Edward Santos, Wascar Almonte, Samantha Taddio, Chabely Rodriguez, Javier Mendoza, Kyra Delano, Cassandra Kaminski and Celina Kryk.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, during his annual State of the State address on Jan. 3, called for the expansion of the program and noted that through the scholarships, “their (students’) dreams can be realized.” He added, “They are children of the family of New York, rich and poor.”

For his part, Beckwith is glad that a part-time opportunity led to a big-time opportunity to help college students. “It is an incredible honor to be chosen to make this whole process better so people could have the best outcome they could possibly have.”