Men's Track and Field | 3/29/2019 11:34:00 AM

FLUSHING, N.Y. (Mar. 29, 2019) - On the track, he is a hurdler and sprinter. Though he transferred into Queens College, his path has led him to this point now. But what if he had been passed over and what if when he started his journey to college, he never got the opportunities because of outside factors that he didn't even recognize?

This is where we find Enoch Jemmott, a junior on the QC men's track and field team. It is because of the recent college admissions scandal at other institutions of higher learning that Jemmott has recently found his unique voice. It is through his involvement in the documentary "Personal Statement", which is being screened across the country, that he has become a vocal figure in this movement. It is also through his writing, an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times, entitled The Implicit Punishment of Daring to Go to College When Poor, that has led Jemmott to this point of an increased audience.

Jemmott explained that in his junior year of high school, he was part of the College Access Research and Action (CARA) program. "That program," he stated, "helps students prepare themselves to assist peers in the college process---to be counselors in essence." It was in that program that the opportunity came to appear in the film, which takes viewers through the process of applying for college through the eyes of Jemmott and two other prospective college students.

"Even though I was in a month-long intensive program," Jemmott insisted, "I started to realize that there were systemic barriers in the lives of high schoolers that should not be there. We're trying to achieve a level of success and there are all of these barriers working against us...not to mention the cameras were always rolling."

While noting that the process was a challenge and that it took almost five years to complete, Jemmott noticed something inside of himself but only after seeing himself on the big screen.

"The first screening was in June in Washington, D.C. and after watching myself," Jemmott noted, "I realized now that I had the capability to overcome those challenges both as a high schooler and as a college student."

It was the recent news that broke about the college admissions process that made Jemmott take a step back. "Realizing that you've seen kids break their backs and use their blood, sweat and tears to get to college," he said, "it was then more difficult to know that people were buying their way into the process instead."

Jemmott's Op-Ed piece in the New York Times came to fruition on a suggestion from one of his mentors. While noting that he is not a writer, the words with which he crafts his arguments and relays his points to the readers at large are striking. An excerpt from the article reads the following:

"We all knew of the SAT, for instance, but had no concrete idea of how to prepare for it. We knew that you had to apply to college, and for financial aid, but didn't know the necessary or "smart" steps. When you're 17, and pretty much doing it all on your own, the sight of all the hurdles you have to jump can be demoralizing, even paralyzing."

"My opinions on the issue," Jemmott proclaimed, "have definitely gotten stronger. The feedback I'm getting is incredible. I'm hearing from my peers and people who I know who are speaking about it but then there are those who I've never met before who are saying that they relate to what I'm writing about."

While, yes, there have been negative comments and e-mails across social media, Jemmott says he does not plan to stop fighting for his message. In fact, he will be making rounds in the Midwest and then traveling back to Washington, D.C. for another screening.  Jemmott does note that he wants there to be some reform with the process to make it easier in some ways.

"Students need to know," Jemmott summed up, "that it's definitely not easy to go through these things. You can't do it ignorantly, and this film is shedding a light on that. It's about achieving what you want to achieve and to get through those systemic barriers that are presented in front of you."