The Liberal Arts Student’s Secret Weapon
Harpur students have an Edge in preparing for careers
In opening a world of possibilities, Harpur College embodies an exceptional Binghamton education. Choosing which life path to pursue sometimes proves the challenge for Harpur students. From this conundrum emerged Harpur Edge, a unique program launched in 2014 to create a launching pad for futures.
Over time, Harpur Edge has helped guide the personal, professional, and academic journeys of more than 5,000 students. Its success led to expanding the signature program to serve graduate students. Mentor Match is an essential component, providing opportunities to work with Harpur alumni, who can effectively preview what a career choice entails. The Physician Mentor Program connects sophomore and junior pre-med students with alumni medical practitioners over summer breaks, while the Public Interest Law Summer Internship gives students considering law school the chance to see what public sector law is really like.
The Harpur High-Impact Student Learning Endowment fosters an even wider range of experiences, providing philanthropy-enabled grants of up to $4,000 that allow students to attend academic or professional conferences; take on unpaid professional internships; conduct their own research in any field; or fund any other experience that can give Binghamton students insight into careers they might pursue.
2019 Harpur graduate Ifeoluwa “Ife” Shoola was a regular at Harpur Edge. A 2018 Harpur Fellow who designed her own community service project for youth in her native Nigeria, Ife followed that interest by using a High-Impact Student Learning grant to attend a global policy conference. She built on this experience through consultations with Director Erin Cody and Harpur Edge alumni mentoring. A mentor’s recommendation eventually led to Ife’s current role as Associate Manager at the Partnership for Public Service in Washington, D.C. — an outcome reflecting all the facets of the Harpur experience.
To have a conversation about investing in Harpur Edge, please contact Rebecca Benner, Associate VP for Advancement and Campaign Director, rbenner@binghamton.edu.