Harley’s Story
A Performer at Heart
Harley recalls shocking everyone when she donned a purple wig and sang “Part of Me” by Katy Perry in the fifth-grade talent show.
Typically quiet at the time, Harley simply wanted to be heard. She remembers feeling calm on stage, with no trace of stage fright.
“That feeling was exhilarating, and I’ve been chasing it ever since.”
Landing more prominent roles reinforced this. “I would relish in the feeling of that self-love, like, I’m doing this for me, and I love this, and no one can take this feeling away from me.”
Anything’s Possible at Purchase
“I think it’s really easy to do what you love here.”
As a Global Studies major, she appreciates the flexibility it provides to take on cross-disciplinary projects. Since she lived with film majors last year, she developed a passion for behind-the-scenes work.
“I love to act and sing, but right now, I’m currently focusing on being an intimacy coordinator in film and theater.”
She’s also working on an experimental short film. “I’m not a film student. I’m a Global Studies major. So why would I be making a film? I don’t know, I just want to,” she says.
The film is based on a short story she wrote, previously published in Italics Mine. “And I’m going to act in it as well because I can do whatever I want.”
The Content and the Community
Harley finds inspiration and support all around.
Her coursework has shifted her perspective. “The classes here at Purchase teach you to put yourself in somebody else’s shoes. You’re learning how to think and how to think outside of yourself, which has helped me.”
The support she receives from her peers is remarkable.
“The community at Purchase is amazing. You could literally ask anyone for help on anything. Even if it’s not something you came to get a degree in,” she says. “I think that’s something you can’t get anywhere else.”
Fully Engaged
Harley takes on many roles, some of which help pay her tuition and expenses.
As a member of the Purchase Activities Board, a position in the Office of Residential and Student Life, she organizes activities to benefit students, for which she receives a housing stipend. On a recent afternoon, she and two other board members were giving away flower arrangements outside Campus Center North, delighting passersby.
She is also the director of The Stood and a member of the PSGA, serving as both the student activities director and the general programming coordinator. Last summer, she was a student orientation coordinator, and she also works at the gym.
A Financial Lifeline
Despite her best efforts, Harley still finds it hard to make ends meet.
She frequently visits the campus food pantry. She tries to focus on the positive aspects of her challenges but wishes things were different.
“I think it’s an extreme privilege to be worried only about classes in college and not tacking on other life challenges as well. I don’t want to struggle. And it sucks that I have to, but it also builds character,” she says.
“Nobody should go through that as you’re studying for college.”
Harley relies on scholarships to stay enrolled at Purchase. “If I didn’t have those scholarships, I wouldn’t be in college. I would have to drop out,” she says.
“That’s something that no student should ever have to feel—like they have to drop out because there’s no way to come up with that money. I think everyone deserves to feel secure in their education.”