Op-ed: Governor Hochul must STEP up

That immortal line from “Field of Dreams” is as applicable today as it was when first heard at movie theaters 35 years ago.

Instead of building a baseball field amid acres of corn stalks, we’re talking about a dynamic pipeline for students from low-income and disadvantaged backgrounds, the Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) and the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), and other NYS “Opportunity Programs” — uniquely designed pipelines that take middle school and high school students through undergraduate studies to professional and graduate school programs of study and eventual careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), health and licensed professions.