A staple of the Hudson Valley Community College campus is calling it a career after 40 years with the school.

Packing up paper weights and awards is among the last things Dr. Lucille Marion had left to do.

"This stuff I don’t mind doing so much," Marion said. "It was going through 27 years worth of paper."

It’s taken her four decades to get here. Marion came to Hudson Valley Community College 40 years ago. She then moved to the Educational Opportunity Center, where she’s been executive director since 1995.

"I don’t know that I really thought when I came to Hudson Valley back then that it would be 40 years later that I would be leaving, but I can think of no other place that I would rather have worked," Marion said.

At EOC, she’s worked to offer tuition-free opportunities for thousands of disadvantaged students through SUNY programming. At times, money has been tight, but she’s gladly led the ship.

"I’ll point to the desk that I’m sitting behind here," she said. "Over those dry times, I had no issue going to find anything free that I could get, and a lot of furniture you’ll find at the EOC, I acquired at no cost because you’d make do with what you have," Marion said.

Over the years, EOC has grown. It’s moved several times. Under Marion’s leadership, the program and its students have thrived.

"Being able to provide even better facilities for our students for the programs they have. It’s grown tremendously over the years, and we have a beautiful location now," Marion said.

But the best part has been to see students succeed. Soon-to-be-graduates are recognized on a wall, which has always been one of her favorite aspects of the job.

"What I love more than anything is seeing graduations where they’re walking across the stage, and for them, many of them, it’s the first time and maybe the only time they’re going to walk across a stage in a cap and gown," Marion said.