Matthew Berge ’21, ’23, Joseph L. Mancino '80 Family Scholarship

What attracted you to Empire State University?

When I earned my associate degree at SUNY Suffolk, I excelled in online classes. That made SUNY Empire appealing. After learning about the ability to design your degree plan and options to take independent study courses, I knew Empire was the right choice for me.

What did you study?

I designed a degree plan that combined elements of sociology, political science, and public policy, along with health and disability studies, to create a transdisciplinary social science major that my undergraduate mentor titled Social Science: Government, Health & Society. Little did I know that a global pandemic was on the horizon, making this unique degree plan ever more important, as I was essentially studying current events once the pandemic began.

I was fortunate to receive the Joesph L. Mancino '80 Family Scholarship in my senior year, which helped me complete my undergraduate studies without taking on student loan debt. That spring, I completed my bachelor's with a 4.0 GPA and graduated summa cum laude. I entered the graduate school in February 2021 to build upon my degree in social science with an MA in Social & Public Policy.

What are your career plans after completing your degree?

Through my academic success, I found a home in academia and wish to make this my career. I hope to someday return to Empire State University as a professor.  I’ve applied to several doctoral programs and wish to either study neurodiversity through the lens of sociology or pursue an applied doctorate like an Ed.D. to focus on how we can better serve the community of disabled and neurodiverse learners.

What would you like others to know about SUNY Empire?

Although this has always been a distance learning institution, the pandemic brought new engagement opportunities for online learners through student organizations like the Student Government Association and eSports. I encourage prospective students to pursue extracurricular opportunities because they foster a sense of belonging in our online learning community.