Invasive plants are taking over the Binghamton University Nature Preserve, and Brendan
Enochs '21 is literally digging up the dirt to learn more.
Most universities do not offer students opportunities to conduct research at the undergraduate
level with real-world impact. But Binghamton University does, thanks to Binghamton
Fund donors.
Brendan’s research to understand how invasive plants may be impacting the soil can
provide critical information for invasive species management, and guide strategies
to effectively manage lands that are invaded in the future.
With Binghamton Fund support, Brendan is on his way to building a career as a researcher
at a not-for-profit organization, state agency or university focused on ecology and
conservation biology. His dream is to work on the conservation of New York state species
of concern and preserve them for future generations to appreciate.
Brendan will never forget the opportunities Binghamton Fund donors gave him.
Micah Jumpp '21, MA '22, plans to create a better world with a career in public interest
law.
During a summer internship with a Washington, D.C., legal services agency, she helped
consumers defend themselves against predatory lending. After a storm caused widespread
power outages and threatened the last week of her internship, donors came to the rescue,
providing a stipend that allowed her to stay in a hotel that still had electricity.
Micah’s broadening her horizons outside of law, too. At Binghamton, she's been taking
courses to learn Chinese and earned third place in a Confucius Institute competition.
She's also challenging her school district back home to review its curriculum and
teach teach complete and accurate histories of Black, indigenous and people of color
(BIPOC), and create equity spaces for BIPOC and LGBTQ+.
Binghamton Fund donors empower students like Micah to dig deep, find themselves and
build better futures for everyone.
You can inspire more life-altering opportunities by making a gift to the Binghamton
Fund. Your compassion today will feed their growth tomorrow.
Emergency-relief scholarship for a first-year student
Nusrat Islam '24 says thank you! Image Credit: Photo provided.
It can be hard enough making the adjustment from high school to college. Nusrat Islam
'24 is doing it in the midst of a pandemic.
Her excitement about getting accepted to Binghamton University was replaced by fear
when her parents lost their jobs. She wondered if she would have to give up her dream
of becoming an oncologist. She hoped the opportunity to be the first in her family
to attend college in America hadn't disappeared.
She applied to every scholarship she came across. The future looked bleak. But then
she received life-changing news:
Binghamton Fund donors stepped up to provide emergency-relief scholarships to students
affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. She was one of the recipients. She told us that accepting the scholarship felt like
standing under a ray of sunshine beaming through the shadows.
In her first semester on campus, Nusrat is already interning remotely with Global
Health Impact, developing a tuberculosis model for an index on the organization's
website. She's also participating in the Source Project, a program at Binghamton that
offers humanities -and social sciences- focused research opportunities to exceptional
first-year students.
Donors are a shining light for students in need. Every gift to support Binghamton gives help and hope to people who need it most.
Do you remember budgeting down to the penny when you were at school? It took planning,
hard work at multiple jobs and sometimes ramen for a few meals. Jason* had his student expenditures planned months in advance.
Then came the coronavirus, and all of Jason's carefully thought out plans disintegrated.
He lost his job, his unemployment benefits didn't come through for weeks and he rapidly
began running out of money for food and rent.
Fortunately, alumni donors came through with emergency aid. And that made it possible for Jason to continue his studies.
This year promises to be just as challenging for students. Please help if you can.
* Jason is a real Binghamton student whose name was changed for privacy reasons.
COVID-19 emergency support to help Maia buy food
At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, Maia lost her job.
She searched for other employment unsuccessfully. To make ends meet, she turned to
the food pantry for support. Unfortunately, her complete dietary needs could not be
met from the pantry and she became worried about her health.
Thanks to emergency aid from her Binghamton family, Maia will be able to buy food
needed to maintain proper nutrition. Now she can better concentrate on her academics and worry less about her health.
There are hundreds of students applying for COVID-19 assistance who need help now.
On May 5, #GivingTuesdayNow, please make a gift to the Binghamton Fund for Excellence:
Providing Emergency COVID-19 Support so students like Maia have the basic resources
to be successful.
Finding a job right now is extremely difficult. Just ask Amanda Peluso '21. She’s
really appreciative that Binghamton Fund donors are making these times easier by helping to support students who have lost campus jobs. Because of their generosity,
she now knows she will make it through the rest of this semester successfully.
Amelia Ferris '22 says thank you for your support! Image Credit: Photo provided.
Amelia Ferris '22 is tremendously grateful to Binghamton Fund donors for the help
she and her family have been receiving during the pandemic. Her mother is a nurse
in New York City so family life has been difficult. Being able to purchase groceries
and other necessities relieves some of their stress.
Helping students continue their education during the COVID-19 pandemic
We are constantly monitoring the well-being and health of our students, faculty and
staff. In the spirit of remaining flexible and nimble, we are encouraging alumni to
support the Binghamton Fund for Excellence, which provides essential, immediate support
where needs are greatest. Right now, that need is assisting students with emergency
funding, and faculty and staff with resources to expand online learning opportunities.
Thanks to generous alumni donors, the Binghamton Fund has been teaming up with partners
across campus to help students in need.
Donors to the Binghamton Fund for Excellence made it possible for the University's
Center for Learning and Teaching, and Information Technology Services, to provide
about 50 students with their own mobile Wi-Fi hotspots, giving them access to the
internet wherever they are and making sure they have the resources they need to complete
their academic studies successfully during the COVID-19 crisis.
As students' financial needs are increasing daily, the Division of Student Affairs
has expanded its application process for offering emergency aid to students in need.
Binghamton Fund donors are providing funding to support this effort.
If you would like to help students who are struggling during this difficult time,
please make a gift online to the Binghamton Fund for Excellence: Providing COVID-19 Emergency Support. All gifts will be used to support our students
and their efforts to complete their semester successfully.
The Student Philanthropy Committee says thanks!
Research opportunities for Rani Marhaba '20
Rani Marhaba '20 is working to keep us safe from a deadly disease they spread: Lyme.
Rani is doing hands-on work hunting for ticks and mice. He's using support from the
Binghamton Fund's alumni donors to investigate Lyme disease in different kinds of
environments. Gifts from the Binghamton Fund help pay for his team's lab equipment
and supplies.
Inspire more leading-edge research by making a gift to the Binghamton Fund today.
Maybe we'll all be part of the team that eradicates Lyme disease.
Just ask Kaitlyn Sanders '21, a junior at Binghamton. Thanks to Binghamton Fund donors,
she had the chance to intern at the Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park this past summer.
She shadowed a zookeeper, trained the goat using operant conditioning techniques and
learned about the animal care aspect of animal conservation. This ultimately led to
her current part-time job focused on education and public outreach for the zoo.
Kaitlyn is now on her way to a career as a wildlife vet at a conservation or rehabilitation
facility, thanks to the Binghamton Fund donors who helped fund her opportunity.
But none of it would have been possible if she hadn't received help with transportation
costs back and forth to the zoo.
Your gifts to the Binghamton Fund provide internships through the Fleishman Center
for Career and Professional Development. Join donors on the wild side.
Career opportunities for Jarita Liang '19
Jarita Liang '19
Jarita Liang '19 launched her career through opportunities donors made possible at
Binghamton, including an externship, an on-campus job at the career center and an
internship that resulted in a job offer.
She worked hard and it paid off. Unfortunately, hard work is not all it takes for
some students. They take out loans for tuition and housing, and they work multiple
jobs, but it still isn't enough. Sometimes they just don't have enough funding.
That's where you come in. Your generosity can give students access to essential learning
experiences beyond the classroom.
