By Aniya Young
The Accelerate, Complete, Engage (ACE) program is expanding once again, with enrollment opening for new students in Spring 2026. This follows ACE’s initial expansion in Spring 2025 through its pre-college Brothers in Achievement Summer Bridge program, which introduced 50 York freshmen to the ACE experience. The expansion marks another exciting step in ACE’s growth and ongoing commitment to student success.
Founded at York in Spring 2022, ACE was created to provide students with support services that promote retention and graduation. Since then, the program has built a strong foundation of academic guidance and community engagement, steadily increasing its reach to support more students each year.
Jonathan Rojas, who recently stepped into the role of ACE Program Director after serving as an advisor, explained the significance of this decision.
“More students can take advantage of ACE’s resources, which include semester OMNY cards, tuition waivers, book stipends, an ACE academic advisor, and access to our amazing Career Specialist, Suemanda Pompey,” Rojas said. “Students also benefit from academic and personal support workshops, all of which increase the overall positive impact ACE has had on the campus community since our inception.”
He emphasized that the reopening reflects ACE’s mission to broaden access and provide more students with the resources they need to thrive.
For ACE staff, the reopening isn’t just about numbers — it’s about the personal connections that define the program.
“How genuine we are about student success,” said Suemanda Pompey, ACE Career Specialist. “We want to see all students graduate on time — four years for incoming freshmen, and two years for transfer students. Our genuine love, support, and passion for seeing students succeed is what makes ACE unique. We want students to have the best possible college experience.”
For Pompey, the most rewarding part of her work is watching students grow. “For me, it’s seeing students develop over the time they’re here in college,” she said.
Similarly, Yvette Simmons emphasized the supportive environment ACE creates. “I think the individualized support makes the program stand out, because when students need help, it’s here,” she said. “It also teaches them how to ask for it. ACE gives you a community — a sense of instant camaraderie — until you figure out your own passions. I think the best part is that it shows students they’re not alone.”
Since its start, the ACE program has been recognized for its commitment to helping students navigate college life with guidance, advising, and access to academic and personal support. The Spring 2026 expansion ensures that more students will benefit from these opportunities, strengthening the ACE community and continuing its tradition of empowering students.
Jonathan Rojas believes this next chapter will be especially meaningful.
“My vision for ACE is to steadily grow,” he said.
“I want to recruit as many York students as possible without sacrificing the quality of service we offer. I’ll take the slow and steady route over fast and disorganized any day — although steady and fast is ideal! I’d like to remain intentional with the decisions we make and preserve the strong foundation ACE has built at York College. With the increased investment in ACE, we’ll be able to hire more staff, offer more workshops, and continue expanding the positive impact we’ve had on the campus community since our start. We will keep providing great service and resources to our students.”
As the new semester approaches, ACE encourages interested students to stay informed.
“We will recruit for Spring 2026, so students who are interested should be on the lookout for recruitment fliers from our program,” Rojas said. “ACE is also increasing our social media presence, so keep an eye out for updates on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.”
With more seats available and a strong team of advisors and staff, ACE is ready to welcome its newest members in 2026. The program has already seen impressive growth — in Fall 2025, enrollment reached more than 370 students, the largest cohort to date. According to Rojas, the addition of new academic advisors will allow ACE to expand its team and support over time, with the potential to serve at least 450 students in the future.
For more information on the ACE program, visit https://www.york.cuny.edu/ace.
