Close Up
Helping students reach their potential
Shanna Crump-Owens continues to give back to her country as a technical sergeant in the Air Force Reserve. Photo: NANCY J. PARISI
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“You know that you�re making a difference in their lives and they, in turn, will go and make a difference in the lives of their families and communities, as well as their professions.”
When Shanna Crump-Owens entered UB, she originally wanted to be an occupational therapist, assisting challenged people to achieve their potential in daily occupations. That aspiration took a turn when she entered the military after her freshman year. In the process, however, she discovered a path that still helped people reach their potential�only now at the student level.
The director of the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) has several shelves in her Norton Hall office filled with note cards from alumni who are grateful to her for what they�re achieving in their professions and communities.
CSTEP is a statewide enrichment program that assists talented underrepresented students pursuing careers in the licensed professions and the scientific, technical and health-related professions. The program offers paid research with faculty and internships, tutoring, an intensive summer research program, workshops, conferences and other valuable tools.
Crump-Owens herself was financially challenged to continue her education at UB when she joined the U.S. Air Force after her freshman year. The Buffalo native landed in a critical career field and, after a year of duty in San Antonio, Texas, and Biloxi, Miss.�where she was taught her occupation in command and control within operations�she entered a work study program for the Department of Defense and was assigned to UB�s Office of Veterans Affairs in the Ellicott Complex.
She was involved in the certification process with military personnel who were enrolled in the university and receiving benefits from the GI Bill, monitoring the status of their degree pursuit. Advising individuals became a substantial part of the job for Crump-Owens, who excelled at it. She was encouraged to pursue a career in higher education administration.
�It wasn�t on my radar that there was a profession that existed for those who were in college student personnel administration,� she says. She became a graduate student and did internships in academic advisement, new student programs and grant-funded student support programs, working with underrepresented students before joining CSTEP in 1997.
Crump-Owens assumed the CSTEP directorship in 2000 upon the promotion of original director John Staley. More than 43,000 students have been part of CSTEP at UB since its inception in 1987. It is among the largest of the 51 CSTEP programs across the state, funded by the New York State Department of Education. �This past year we were funded for 260 students and we served 350. So we�re well over the capacity of what we�re funded to do,� she relates. �That means there is a student need and demand for the type of services that are being offered.�
She takes an advocacy role at the state and campus levels, lobbying for funding in Albany and advocating with faculty members at UB to obtain available slots within their research labs for CSTEP students. �Research is one of the primary precursors for our students who attend graduate school,� she reasons. �Collaboration with faculty is very important, developing a relationship with that faculty member who then becomes a mentor is key to student success�particularly in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) majors. Relationships are important for integration and engagement and fostering a sense of belonging.�
Preparation for college while students are in the educational pipeline also is a key initiative. Alumni and students participate in the annual CSTEP Day of Service, which is extended to underserved high schools in the city of Buffalo to show students the perceptions and realities of being an undergraduate. �It�s an opportunity for them to see successful college students who look like them and who faced many of the same challenges to get into college,� she says.
The CSTEP theme�to whom much is given, much is required�is an overarching call to action for program participants, many of whom return as alumni to volunteer with the program. �We�re trying to foster a sense of community or connectedness�that�s one of our primary goals,� she says. �If you give students a vehicle to give back, they�ll have a desire to give back without feeling obligated to do so.�
Crump-Owens continues to give back to her country in her role as a technical sergeant in the Air Force Reserve, where she is a command and control specialist working in operations. In a primarily classified position, she tracks air spaces and data related to aircrew at the Niagara Falls Air Force Base one weekend a month in addition to 15 days of training a year. Her deployments have included tours of duty in Italy and France.
�The Air Force has allowed me to travel the world,� she says. �I�ve met a cadre of individuals who are committed, highly motivated and dedicated examples of integrity and leadership, and have experienced teamwork dynamics at optimal levels.�
There also is room on Crump-Owens�s full plate for her studies at the University of Rochester as a doctoral student in Education Leadership and Policy, a program she chose because of its commitment to social justice through education. She lives in Buffalo with her husband, Marius, a Buffalo firefighter, and daughter, Maya, 10.
Her dedication to service and personal advancement reflects her commitment to CSTEP students and their career horizon. �You know that you�re making a difference in their lives and they, in turn, will go and make a difference in the lives of their families and communities, as well as their professions,� she says.����������������
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