GOVERNOR HOCHUL ANNOUNCES APPLICATION OPENING FOR 2023 CAREY GABAY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Five Exemplary Incoming Students Will be Selected to Receive Full SUNY Scholarships

Interested Individuals Encouraged to Apply Here

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that the State University of New York is now accepting applications for the 2023 Carey Gabay Memorial Scholarship. Carey Gabay, an attorney and public servant who formerly worked in the Governor’s Counsel’s Office, was an innocent victim of gun violence who was killed tragically in 2015; this scholarship honors his legacy.

"The Carey Gabay Scholarship celebrates students that are leaders in their community and are working to make New York a better place to live, work and play,” Governor Hochul said. “Carey Gabay, a product of the Bronx public schools and a dedicated public servant, represented the New York dream in action and I’m proud that this continued scholarship honors his memory.”

Now in its eighth year, this program provides full cost of attendance scholarships to five incoming SUNY students who exemplify Gabay's commitment to social justice, leadership, and mentoring as well as his personal story of academic success and overcoming the challenges of an economically disadvantaged background.

Applications are available here and are due by September 22.

SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. said, "Carey Gabay recognized that not everyone has equitable access to the resources needed to achieve their goals. Carey faced substantial obstacles on his own path, but was determined to succeed anyway, and he did. Throughout his admirable career in public service, he strove to help others break through barriers as he had. Carey was an inspiration to those of us who knew him, and it is an honor to commemorate his legacy with this scholarship."

Founder of the Carey Gabay Foundation Trenelle Gabay said, “If Carey was still with us, I know how much he would appreciate this program and its work to break down barriers for disadvantaged youth. While Carey’s life was taken to a senseless act of gun violence, his legacy and commitment to public service lives on through this scholarship. Thank you to Governor Hochul for continuing to honor Carey's life and work."

Gabay was raised in public housing and attended public school in the Bronx. After a successful high school career, he graduated from Harvard University and Harvard Law School. He was committed to public service and giving back to those around him, and while at Harvard University, ran to become president of his undergraduate student body. Gabay worked tirelessly in public service, beginning in 2011 as assistant counsel to the former governor and continuing as first deputy counsel for the Empire State Development Corporation.

The Carey Gabay Memorial Scholarship will once again award full scholarships to five students to attend four-year SUNY colleges beginning in the 2023-24 school year. These scholarships will cover all costs of attendance, including tuition, room and board, college fees, books and supplies, and transportation and personal expenses. Scholarship recipients will also participate in amentoring program.

About The State University of New York

The State University of New York, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2022, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit www.suny.edu.