Genevieve Adjei ’24 & Genevieve Adjei Jr. ’24 make history as first-ever double EOP Student Excellence awardees
Twin sisters with twin names and majors Genevieve Bamfoa Adjei ’24 (Sociology—Human Services) & Genevieve Adjei, Jr. ’24 (Sociology —Human Services) came to SUNY New Paltz as shy girls from the Bronx, New York, and emerged as history-making forces in the campus community.
On April 18, the sisters were recognized by SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr., and the state university system as recipients of the Norman R. McConney, Jr. Award for EOP Student Excellence for academic excellence and strength in overcoming personal obstacles. It was the first time in the ceremony’s history that there were two recipients of this award.
“It feels even more special to have gotten this award at the same time,” said Adjei Jr. “What’s even crazier is that we have the same name, same major, same everything.”
“I’m not used to celebrating myself, so this award was a shock,” said Adjei, “but this experience will stick with me forever.”
The duo also earned the EOP Percy Sutton and Arthur O. Eve awards at the annual Chi Alpha Epsilon honor society induction ceremony, for maintaining the highest and second highest grade point averages in their senior year, respectively. During that ceremony, the Adjei sisters received additional recognition with an upgrade distinction of Diamond status for their continued academic excellence in achieving 4.0 GPAs during their last semester.
Their awards streak was capped off with a 2024 President’s Award from SUNY New Paltz for outstanding achievement in academics and in other areas of their collegiate careers.
Impressively, they balanced their academic success with on-campus professional opportunities as front desk assistants, interns with the Children’s Center and the Office of Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion, respectively, and leadership roles as EOP ambassadors and Peer ALLIs.
All the while, these experiences helped the Adjei sisters through their social anxiety, and now Adjei is looking to do the same for the youth after finding inspiration in her Children’s Center internship experience.
“Being at SUNY New Paltz made me realize that I have a lot to offer,” she said. “I took every opportunity that was presented to me, and I gained a stronger sense of self in the process. Now, I feel more prepared than ever to help others feel empowered too.”
Adjei plans to continue in children’s social work as a case manager before pursuing a Master of Social Work degree, while her sister plans to go into human resources after becoming the HRDI office’s first-ever intern.
“I advocated for myself so I could get this role, and now I want to pursue human resources as a career,” said Adjei, Jr. “I found it fulfilling to learn all that goes into the field.”
More information about the Educational Opportunity Program at SUNY New Paltz is available online.