Paying it forward: Senior Jacob Kerr creates a unique college experience and gives back along the way
When Jacob Kerr gets stressed, he cleans.
Hoping to scale back on how many clothes he owned, Kerr was left with a pile of items he wanted to rehome. Instead of trying to sell them to a secondhand clothing store, Kerr decided to start a “thrift store” and donate the funds to the Binghamton University Nature Preserve.
Now a senior, Kerr’s plan was not the first unique idea he’s had at Binghamton University. Born in Milwaukee, but raised in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Kerr decided to attend Binghamton after taking a gap year in New Zealand upon graduating from high school.
“I learned there that you only need food, water and shelter to survive. Everything else is extra,” he says. “So why not spend that extra on things you’re passionate about?”
Kerr was able to combine his passion for science and writing in Harpur College’s Individualized Major Program (IMP), which essentially allows students to design their own major.
Beyond the unique curriculum, Kerr became involved with a number of organizations and offices around campus. He’s the kind of person who thrives on activity, and not one to “sit around,” he acknowledges.
He filled his schedule with an internship in the Office of Research Advancement and a job with Harpur Edge. He also joined Pipe Dream, working his way up to news editor during his junior year.
Meeting Binghamton’s Nobel laureate, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry M. Stanley Whittingham, was an experience Kerr will never forget. He interviewed Whittingham for an episode of Meet Blank, Pipe Dream’s podcast that Kerr helped create.
“Being at a University where you have access to a Nobel Prize winner — that’s the dream of an aspiring science journalist,” Kerr says. “There are so many cool personalities and people on this campus.”
Kerr, also a photographer, often found himself in the Nature Preserve. He wanted to find a way to help out, but had limited time to volunteer due to his already packed schedule.
It was then that the thrift store idea clicked. With help and donations from friends and fellow Hinman College residents, he set up their first shop in the Hinman Commons, selling used clothes for low prices.
“I was hoping we’d make $500, but even that felt ambitious,” he recalls. “But when I counted up the money, I realized we had doubled that. It made me very emotional. I felt like that amount could actually make a difference.”
Kerr has run the thrift store a number of times since, with proceeds continuing to go to the Nature Preserve. He’s working with University officials to find a way to make it a permanent staple, even after he leaves Binghamton.
As he works through his final year at Binghamton, Kerr has no regrets in crafting a college experience unique to his passions.
“College is a time to learn who you are, and Binghamton has allowed me to do that,” he says.