National Supermarket Association Teams With New York Tech

Collaboration provides NSA members, their employees and their families access to college education

2/1/2023

Beginning with the spring 2023 semester, NSA will promote information about New York Tech undergraduate programs to the trade association's members, their employees and their families.

The National Supermarket Association (NSA) has teamed up with the New York Institute of Technology (New York Tech) to help provide access to education for 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 a trade association representing more than 200 members that own 400 independent supermarkets in New York and other cities throughout the East Coast, the Mid-Atlantic region and Florida. It’s 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 a career-oriented professional education, and is recognized for the diversity and social mobility of its student body. The nonprofit, independent and nonsectarian institute of higher education has six schools and colleges that offer undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. The university has campuses in New York and Long Island, N.Y.; Jonesboro, Ark.; and Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as programs around the world.

As part of their relationship, NSA will promote information about New York Tech’s undergraduate programs and its School of Management M.B.A. programs, starting with the spring 2023 semester. Accepted students are eligible for scholarships; NSA scholarships will cover at least 25% of related students’ full-time tuition.

“Our entrepreneurial drive led us to open supermarkets a few decades ago in what had been economically depressed, primarily minority neighborhoods,” said Samuel Collado, president of Flushing, N.Y.-based NSA. “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.”

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 New York Tech’s School of Management. Tibrewala spearheaded the effort to develop the university’s relationship with the NSA.