Some of Harpur College’s soon-to-be alumni shared their secrets to success with students, showing them how to make the most of their time at Binghamton University.
The panels, held on March 10 and 11, were put on by Harpur Edge, a program that aims to connect students with networking and internship opportunities to prepare them for their careers. It was organized by Wendy Neuberger, the director of Harpur Edge, and student volunteers.
Student organizers Maria Uquillas, a junior double-majoring in economics and political science, and Winnie Zhu, a senior majoring in English, said they chose the panelists from students who were on the dean’s list and held high positions in Student Association clubs and campus organizations.
Panelists Tyler Downey, Shachar Avraham, Lory Martinez, Samantha Meadows, Sarah Khan, Gina Kim, Zoe Liebmann and Alexander Liu shared participation in the University’s academic departments and extracurricular activities over a two-day series of panels.
“We picked students from a wide field, and didn’t focus on just one, as shown with one of our panelists being a part of the radio and another a research assistant,” Zhu said. “We want to show Harpur students that any career is possible as long you’re passionate and willing to work hard to be successful.”
Martinez is the news director at WHRW 90.5 FM and the president of the Binghamton Media Group, as well as a senior double-majoring in French and English. She said the key to her success was majoring in something she loves, and encouraged students to explore different fields even if they are outside their comfort zone.
“I applied to a graduate school in France before on a whim, and somehow I got it,” Martinez said. “And now I’m going to France next fall, and I’m excited and I welcome this new adventure that I will be going on.”
Avraham, a senior majoring in integrated media communications, said he had benefited from the individualized major program, which allowed him to take all the classes that he wanted.
“My freshman year I met with my Harpur adviser and she told me about the individualized major program, and I immediately jumped on that opportunity,” Avraham said. “Through that I was able to take advantage of education here and I got to choose my own classes, which has helped me, so I can now graduate a semester earlier than next spring.”
Emily Mahoney, a junior majoring in theater, came to the panel to see Downey, an actor and a senior double-majoring in theater and English, and to learn about furthering her acting career.
“I came here to support my friend,” Mahoney said. “And now I’m leaving inspired by the students on the panel to go out and find opportunities or create my own so that I can be a successful actress someday.”
Above all, Martinez said students should have fun.
“You should all explore, mess up,” Martinez said. “Use the years after graduation to follow your dreams and do whatever you can to build experiences that you can later tell stories to people about.”