Commencement 2017 profile: Danielle Preiser

For Danielle Preiser, college has been a circular journey.

“I started college in 2011, but I was pulled out for medical reasons multiple times,” Preiser said. “It’s taken me six years, but if you look at all of the courses I’ve been pulled out of, I’m still technically graduating a semester early.”

Preiser is graduating from Harpur College this spring as a psychology major, with minors in health and wellness studies and education. Though she spent her first and last full semesters at Binghamton University, she ended up attending four other colleges along the way.

Beginning her college career at Tulane University, Preiser had to withdraw from her first semester due to medical difficulties. Returning to her home state of New York, Preiser came to Binghamton University for her first full semester.

Preiser then left Binghamton University because of several undiagnosed medical issues that followed the removal of her large intestine. After taking some time off, she attended both Nassau Community College and Hunter College, studying dietetics on a pre-med track.

“I was with my friends at dinner one night and I said: ‘I don’t want to major in this,’” Preiser recounted. “I told them, ‘I’m gonna drive up to Binghamton, I’m going to get all of the classes I want, even though classes have already started, and I’m going to find a place to live, all within 24 hours.’”

Posting to a Binghamton University Facebook group, Preiser found students who offered her a place to stay, a mattress and even a pickup truck to transport the mattress to her friend’s spare room. Preiser found two jobs, one at Thai Time and the other at Starbucks, and went to SUNY Broome to find a way to take classes. After waiting for the head of the Psychology Department for hours, Preiser was able to get into every class she needed.

“Within 24 hours I became a full-time student, an employee and I had a place to stay,” Preiser said.

After spending a semester at SUNY Broome, Preiser was able to return to Harpur College once again. Though she has been in and out of Binghamton University over the last six years, she has always found a home for herself on campus.

“My time at Binghamton has been unbelievable,” Preiser said. “My life has been filled with inconsistencies and Binghamton University is the consistency.”

Working as a resident assistant (RA), a group fitness instructor at the East Gym and even as an intern for President Harvey Stenger, Preiser has become an integral part of campus life. Especially as an RA, Preiser believes she is able to share her positive attitude with the people around her.

“I believe it’s the most impactful job on campus,” Preiser said. “I have many jobs, but being an RA gives me the avenue to change people’s college experiences and lives.”

She’s made it her long-term mission to help others, focusing on mental health outreach and aspiring to heal and inspire every person she meets.

At 19, Preiser started a national non-profit organization called One Special World. The organization, which began in 2014, is for special needs advocacy, with all funds going toward building a group home for young adults with developmental disabilities.

“The foundation of One Special World is that we all have special needs,” Preiser said. “Needs that are unique and special to ourselves, needs that make us individuals.”

The idea for One Special World came to Preiser through her brother, Jonathan, who has Fragile X Syndrome, a genetic disorder similar to autism.

“One hundred percent of the funds raised goes toward building a group home that will house three or four male, young adults who have medium needs,” Preiser said. “My brother will be one of the residents.”

Preiser has found Binghamton University to be the perfect place to let One Special World flourish.

“At Binghamton, everything that you put in you get back tenfold,” Preiser said. “It has shaped my life because One Special World has really sparkled here; people’s whole hearts are really in the mission.”

Alenna McDonald, Preiser’s former yoga teacher, has watched both Preiser and One Special World grow over the last three years.

“She has many things she is passionate about but at the top of the list is the foundation that she created in honor of her brother,” McDonald said. “When she talks about the foundation she just lights up. It’s an amazing task she has taken on, to grow this foundation, and she is doing an incredible job. A true example of a genuine labor of love.”

McDonald, an adjunct lecturer in health and wellness, has shaped Preiser’s perspective, altering how Preiser teaches and views yoga.

“Alenna believes in mind-body health and was somebody who taught me how to slow down,” Preiser said. “True physical health follows mental health. If you’re not internally well, you’re not physically well.”

Along with McDonald, Preiser has several mentors within health and wellness studies.

Jennifer Wegmann, a health and wellness studies lecturer, is one of many people on campus who will miss Preiser once she graduates.

“The most impressive thing about Dani is how incredibly positive she is,” Wegmann said. “Looking at her life you could understand if she was a bit negative, or if she didn’t have the zest for life that she has, but she is so enthusiastic.”

Wegmann has taught Preiser in three classes; Nutrition, Contemporary Health Issues, and Stress Management.

“I’ve written several letters of recommendation for Dani and at the end of all of them I write ‘I have no doubt that this young woman will change the world,’ and I couldn’t be more honest than that,” Wegmann said.

Though Preiser draws inspiration and positivity from each person she meets, her boss at the East Gym, Patti Dowd, has been a particularly formative figure in her life.

“When I was doing the group fitness internship, I was struggling financially,” Preiser said. “I needed to work overtime and had to drop the internship, but Patti sponsored my AFAA certification and yoga certification.”

As Preiser looks back on her six-year journey, she knows she has come a long way.

“I’m much stronger than I ever thought I was,” Preiser said. “I never thought I would make it; graduation is a miracle for me.”

After she graduates, Preiser is heading to California for a year, taking time to slow down and rejuvenate. “I’m teaching myself that I do have tomorrow, and that I have many years to come,” she said.

Though she is leaving Binghamton University, she knows that the good she has found here will always come back to her.

“Trust that everything will come full circle and that’s not a bad thing,” Preiser said. “It’s not going backwards, it’s coming back to something.”