Aixamarie Carmona

Rider freshman Aixamarie Carmona is Rider's first Educational Opportunity Program student who has received educational support from the Wight Foundation, a Newark-based organization which provides guidance and scholarships, based on income, for gifted students. As a result, Carmona attended and graduated from a college preparatory boarding school in New England.

A lover of English literature and vocal music performance, she heard good things about Rider's English department and its renowned Westminster Choir College while at The Westover School in Middlebury, CT. Although she has yet to settle on a particular major, she has narrowed it down to three possible areas: music -voice performance, English, and philosophy. She is also interested in Rider's pre-law -- law and justice program.

"At Westover, I studied Homer, Shakespeare, and Greek mythology and fell in love with it," said Carmona. I was also enthralled by the ideas and dilemmas presented by Plato, Descartes and Kant. As for law, I love to present a good argument. In my search, I saw that Rider offered all these areas of focus and more. I also wanted a place a little bit closer to home than my previous school but not quite as small."

In addition to Newark, EOP's 43 freshmen this year hail from such areas as Jersey City, Trenton, Orange, Asbury Park, Willingboro and Englewood and most are graduates of urban school districts, according to Rubin Joyner, director of Rider' EOP. Carmona is the first to come to Rider by way of the Wight Foundation.

"This is a win-win situation,"said Joyner. "The Wight Foundation has an excellent program for nurturing the talents of outstanding students. Sixty-five students from Wight Foundation-supported boarding schools recently took a tour of Rider's campus. The Foundation has a passion for students as we do here at Rider. We look forward to future partnerships."

At The Westover School, Carmona was involved in various organizations, serving as president of Westover's African-American Latino Student Association; first head of the Glee Club and a member of the Overtones, a select acappella singing group. She was also active in the student government and the Westover Chamber Chorus. Her passion for music, she says, stems from her father, who studied guitar at a music conservatory in Puerto Rico.

Carmona plans to stay involved in campus life at her new home away from home. She gained a head start this summer participating with her peers in EOP's five-week orientation program. The group will also participate in EOP's 11-week fall academic program. The curriculum, which features college writing, introduction to speech and introduction to logic, is designed not only to stimulate critical thinking and communication but to also instill a higher level of individual self-esteem in students.

"I hope to be involved in Greek life, if I am lucky," said Carmona. "I would also love to join a multicultural group and I definitely want to continue pursuing my interest in music. This summer, I attended a Greek picnic and had a lot of fun watching the fraternities and sororities do their salutes and step dances. I also really appreciated my EOP peer counselors and the graduate assistant. Everyone has helped me adjust to campus life."

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