It’s Your Path

Bay Path will guide you in earning a degree while achieving your goals and supporting your personal growth as part of the community. The 4 year WELL (Women as Empowered Learners and Leaders) program, is an integral part of a growth process that will fulfill you in learning, leading, sharing, achieving and preparing, all the while being supported and advised throughout the 4-year program.

To choose Bay Path is the first step in moving forward, on, and up with your life. At Bay Path, you are in charge of your destiny, and you will be given full support and guidance in helping you succeed.

Student Success - Undergraduate Residential Students

“My Future Feels Full of Possibilities”

When Madison Harakles ’21 was looking at colleges she knew what she wanted: an empowering experience that would build her confidence and capabilities. She also knew what she didn’t want: “To feel like a number.” When Madison visited Bay Path, she knew she was home.

“Bay Path is special because of its size,” Madison said. “It’s a small, friendly campus and we all know each other. Plus, the students are academic-minded, which is great. We’re all here to learn and to get things done.”

In her time on campus, Madison, a Psychology major, has flourished: “I’ve grown a lot through leadership. I’m much more confident and outgoing than I was.”

Today, Madison is president of three campus clubs: Student Government Association, the Gay Path Alliance, and the Environmental Club. “I wasn’t a very involved student in high school,” she said, “But here, I was inspired to participate in things I was passionate about. I discovered myself at Bay Path.”

Madison credits the following for her transformation and success:

• A personalized experience: “My professors not only know me by name, but they know my goals and interests. Their support has led to opportunities for internships and jobs. They write personal letters of recommendations that speak to my strengths. They’re so accommodating and they want us to succeed.”

• The all-women’s learning environment: “There’s such a difference in the classroom: we’re never talked over or interrupted. I noticed immediately that I didn’t feel nervous about speaking up in class and I realized why. It’s given me a lot of strength and confidence. When I leave here, I’ll bring that with me. I found my voice at Bay Path. That’s been a great gift.”

• The opportunities: “There’s so much you can do as a Bay Path student. I had an internship at a women’s health clinic in South Africa all set up when COVID hit. It shows you the types of opportunities students get here.”

“My future feels full of possibilities because of my Bay Path experience,” Madison said.

“It’s opened my mind to what is possible in life.”

Her Path to the Perfect Major

Like nearly one third of her peers, Megan Griffin ’21 started college in one major before she found the right fit with Professional Writing. “I was in Psychology my freshman year,” she said, “but when I took some communications classes, I just fell in love with journalism and writing.”

At the time, Megan was also working in the Strategic Alliances department, host of the annual Women’s Leadership Conference. Megan was able to apply her writing skills to her work on the conference. As a result, she started to seriously consider a career in writing.

She decided her next step was an internship, so Megan reached out to the Sullivan Career and Life Planning Center and soon secured a summer internship with Big Brothers and Big Sisters. She said, “I worked with the marketing and fundraising director doing interviews and writing for social media. The experience showed me how much I like interacting with people and sharing their stories.”

Today, Megan is building the life she wants to live. “My goal is to become an English professor, so I will be looking at graduate programs soon.” In the meantime, she is building her skills through experience: as associate editor of The Network News, the student magazine, and as a peer mentor for the WELL program.

“I’m unrecognizable compared to who I was before Bay Path,” Megan said. “I don’t hold back anymore. I realized the power of my voice.”

Her Path To The Perfect Future

Sawyer Harris ’22 came to Bay Path specifically for the all-women’s environment. “I knew it would be the best place to build a health sciences career,” she said. Once here, she found another outstanding opportunity: the 3+2 Occupational Therapy major, allowing her to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in a total of 5 years.

“The program is excellent,” Sawyer said. “We get exposed to so much that is relevant to the field, like training in the Ryan Center. Part of it is set up like a house, which is where occupational therapists tend to work. It has all the tools and adaptive equipment that we’ll use professionally.”

Sawyer also appreciates the freedom that Bay Path allows in letting students tailor their degrees to match their interests: “I added a Psychology minor because it’s something I’m interested in and it adds value to my degree.”

Sawyer merged her health science and psychology interests in an independent research study she completed through the Bay Path Scholar’s Program. “I studied the effect of meditation on chronic pain, which I presented at the New England Psychology Association Conference,” Sawyer said, adding, “My advisor was a great mentor throughout.”

That experience, along with her campus involvement and leadership, have transformed her:

“Bay Path has made me a more confident and competent person. It’s shown me that I have so many more opportunities in the world than I ever knew.”

And as to her earlier conviction that an all-female environment would be the best place to prepare for a health science career, Sawyer is fully convinced now: “I find it empowering to be in a class full of women on their way to becoming health professionals. It’s conducive to growth, academically, and professionally.”

“THEY MADE ME Believe IN MYSELF”

Pilar Tapia Reyes ’21 applied to Bay Path University because it had the perfect major: Digital Forensics. “I’ve always been good at technology and interested in criminal justice, so when I found this major, it all came together,” she said. But getting accepted wasn’t the hard part.

“I was nervous about going to college,” Pilar said. “I thought I’d be alone and I doubted myself because English is my second language.” She quickly realized, though, that she had nothing to worry about.

“When I came to campus for Welcome Week, I was really nervous, but I made two really good friends right away and from then on, I felt part of community,” Pilar said.

Still shy, she took a while to open up beyond her immediate friends: “I was afraid to ask questions in a group and I think my advisor knew that. He kept checking in on me and making sure my transition was going well. It helped me a lot and it shows how much they care about students at Bay Path — not just your academics, but your mental health, too.”

Now a senior, Pilar is thriving. “Since I’ve been at Bay Path, I’ve become more independent and professional. I’ve grown a lot,” she said. “Being at an all-women’s college has made me sure of myself. It’s easy to speak up in class and share my opinion because no one will talk over me. We all support each other. Even when we disagree, we have each other’s back.”

And she credits her professors for continually inspiring and supporting her: “My advisor is a great mentor. He’s helping me discover the steps I need to take in order to get my dream job at the FBI.”

“My professors have been there for me since day one. They made me believe in myself.”

Merging Interests in a Research Study

The first thing Batoul Mourad ’22 noticed about Bay Path was its strong sense of community: “Once I came to campus and saw how happy and helpful everyone was, I just knew Bay Path was the place for me.”

Today, the Legal Studies major (and future attorney) is deep into her studies. Batoul also works as a student ambassador, where she shares her enthusiasm for Bay Path’s people and programs with visiting students.

Here are a few observations and highlights from Batoul:

Study what you love, love what you study: “The Legal Studies major is excellent and I love the way we learn. We explore different cases in the history of law by debating them like you would in court. It’s so motivating. This is typical of classes at Bay Path. The learning is always hands-on. I’ve never had a boring class at Bay Path.”

Discover new things. “I discovered boxing at Bay Path and I love it! It makes me feel energized and motivated.”

We’re all in it together. “When I first came here I was anxious, but the WELL program put me at ease. I realized we were all in the same situation and all feeling the same thing. From then on, I started to see things differently. I realized that there’s always a way through things and I started to see Bay Path as my chance to do what I want in life.”

The strong women’s environment is amazing! “I’m empowered by all the strong women at Bay Path. It wows me and motivates me. I feel that nothing can stop me.”

You’ll transform. “I’ve grown a lot since I’ve been at Bay Path. My wings are spreading and I know now I can fly. I plan to go to law school and become an attorney. My advisor is an attorney and she’s helping me prepare for the next steps: taking the LSATs and applying to law school.”