Roy Pompey and the CASP Office: An “Educational Family” for Students

For students seeking a warm and personal learning environment and one-on-one academic help, the Collegiate Academic Support Program (CASP) office in CTR 230 is the place to go, and Roy Pompey, CASP coordinator, is the man to talk to. Pompey has been with the college for over 24 years. He started working at HVCC in 1987 as the director of the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP). When this program lost funding, it was replaced by CASP and Pompey stayed on as a retention specialist.

During this time, Pompey has influenced, and continues to influence, countless students in need of help. “For me, it’s all about the students. My job is to make sure students stay in school,” said Pompey. One student, Joshua Seaton, refers to the environment created by Pompey in the CASP office as “an educational family.” Kami Lacourt, a freshman, said, “Mr. Pompey has helped me a lot…when he sees I’m not doing anything right, he puts me on the right path, like you have to do this, do this, you should be doing this. He’s like my father, kind of like.” The CASP office is a learning center that offers one-on-one help with schoolwork, especially with math and writing, in a close-knit environment. Michael Engle and Carroll Hammond are the math and writing specialists, respectively. Additionally, four peer mentors are also available to support fellow students.

Not only does Pompey direct students to CASP specialists for academic support, but he also offers them emotional and spiritual support. He calls his approach to helping students “holistic and humanistic.” “My approach has been to look at the person coming in the door as a person first and as a student second. That’s the main difference that I see,” said Pompey, referring to the uniqueness of the CASP as a learning center. In keeping with this approach, Pompey makes an effort to do more than just guide students academically. He is available to listen to their personal problems and provide support in any possible way.

Pompey goes so far as to keep ten-ride bus passes and $25 Price Chopper cards on hand so that if a student is in crisis, he can make sure he or she still has a ride to school and food to eat. “It’s those life sustaining things that enable them to come back to school. If you’re hungry, you don’t feel like doing school work, so that’s a need that can be easily met here,” said Pompey. The warmth and support provided by Pompey to students coming into his office is apparent from these students’ expressions of gratitude and appreciation of his work. His entire office is covered with grateful cards and photos from past students. Students speak with admiration about the emotional and academic assistance provided by Pompey and the other CASP specialists, including Aaron Nooney, Carroll Hammond, Michael Engle, and Jerri Bayly.

“Everybody, actually, that’s in this office has been a big inspiration to me. Studying-wise, perfect to come here. It just helps me all the way around, nothing negative about it, just helps me,” said Bernette ‘Bubbles’ Riley, a peer mentor in the CASP. Matt Thatcher, a senior, said that the CASP has increased his confidence in his ability to do math and has also acted as a social haven. “It doesn’t matter what problems you’ve got because as soon as you walk here, it’s like you’ve got a family here, so you get your work done [and] whatever problems you have out there don’t really come here with you,” he said.

According to another student, Jesse Elmore, the CASP is like an adoptive family and his personal hideout. He said, “I have an HVCC mother and father and sister and I like that. So, everybody says, ‘Oh, is that your mother?’ and I’m like, ‘No, that’s my HVCC mother.’ Peer mentors help a lot, too.” While students speak highly of Pompey, Pompey speaks highly of the rest of the CASP staff. He referred to them all as “excellent” and said that he has watched the math specialists take students from an F and bring them up to an A+.

Pompey considers his job to be personally rewarding because every day is different and he gets to influence the lives of students. “Whatever I do for a kid is going to impact his or her life in some kind of way,” he said.
Before working at HVCC, Pompey used to work for the New York State Department of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. “I left there in early 1987, and I was collecting unemployment benefits, and my unemployment benefits ran out on Dec. 17, 1987, and I started working here on Dec. 18, 1987. It was a miracle,” said Pompey.
The people in the CASP office, students and staff alike, welcome new students to come in and join their “educational family.” “We have an open door policy. Everyone -slash- everybody is welcome at any time. We’re big on diversity, we’re big on people,” said Pompey.