New York Tech and National Supermarket Association Team Up to Support Access to Education

New York Institute of Technology and the National Supermarket Association (NSA), a trade association representing more than 200 members who own 400 supermarkets in New York and other cities throughout the East coast, Mid-Atlantic region, and Florida, are teaming up to help provide access to education to NSA members, their employees, and their families. 

The related missions of the two organizations provide a strong foundation for this collaboration. The NSA, founded in 1989 by Hispanic entrepreneurs, is committed to supporting education for its members’ approximately 20,000 employees and their families. For more than 60 years, New York Tech has been guided by its mission to provide all qualified students access to opportunity to receive a career-oriented professional education and is recognized for the diversity and social mobility of its student body. 

Beginning with the spring 2023 semester, NSA will promote information about New York Tech undergraduate programs to its members, their employees, and their families. New York Tech’s School of Management M.B.A. programs will also be promoted in this relationship. Accepted students are eligible for scholarships; NSA scholarships will cover at least 25 percent of related students’ full-time tuition.

“As we work to develop new channels and opportunities to provide access to education, New York Tech is committed to actively engaging with employers such as NSA to create pathways for traditional and nontraditional students seeking a college education,” said Jerry Balentine, D.O., provost and executive vice president at New York Tech. “This partnership model is one we hope to emulate with additional employers, and we applaud NSA for advocating for education among its members and their employees.”

“Our entrepreneurial drive led us to open supermarkets a few decades ago in what had been economically depressed, primarily minority neighborhoods. Today, this same vision that strengthened and enhanced our communities extends in many ways, including our dedication to helping people earn a college degree. We believe that our community members interested in pursuing higher education will find a place for themselves at New York Tech,” said Samuel Collado, NSA president.

The two organizations will also work together to provide internship, experiential learning, and other career-related opportunities. For example, NSA will be invited to New York Tech career fairs and related events, and NSA members will consider qualified New York Tech candidates for internships and job opportunities. The two will also collaborate on fundraising efforts in support of student scholarships, and NSA will encourage its members to support New York Tech’s Grizzly Cupboard food pantries, part of the Bear Bytes initiative, which provides students with food as well as health and wellness resources and information.

“A deep relationship between an organization such as NSA and New York Tech in multiple areas, including access to academic programs for NSA employees, internships and career opportunities for New York Tech students, and professional development and employee training for the supermarket owners, provides tremendous benefits to both organizations,” said Rajendra Tibrewala, professor of operations and supply chain management in the School of Management, who spearheaded the effort to develop the university’s relationship with NSA.