“I fell in love with Colgate the minute I saw it,” senior Haley Mirr said.

A Benton scholar concentrating in environ-mental economics with a Spanish minor, Mirr has made her mark on campus through her engage-ment as a Sorella Society member, Green Raider with the sustainability team, Charred Goosebeak member and Outdoor Education leader.

Her role as a Benton Scholar began her first year, as she lived with the other students in the program. She developed friendships with the other scholars that have lasted throughout her time at Colgate, and together they went on a trip to India for two weeks. Working with middle school children, she realized how similar their upbringing was to her own. Mirr brought that global perspective back to students at Colgate. She also explained that her experience in India influenced her study abraod experience in Granada, Spain.

Mirr’s participation in the Colgate com-munity continues through her duty as an Outdoor Education leader. Her training be-gan in her first year when she was taught the adventure skills of climbing, kayaking, naviga-tion and caving. She has led first-year pre-ori-entation trips to the Adirondacks and teaches physical education classes. Her favorite aspects of the program are how it allows students to appreciate how beautiful upstate New York is, as well as its ability to bring students from a variety of social groups together.

“Outdoor Education has made my Col-gate experience so much more important to me and different from any other college experience,” Mirr said.

Mirr is also involved in Charred Goose-beak, Colgate’s improvisational comedy group. Referring to the group as “her boys,” Mirr explained her excitement about the group’s five new members and their upcoming performance over this year’s Family Weekend.

Mirr extends her participation at Colgate to philanthropic work, as well.

“Philanthropy is really important to me, and I think we kick butt in what we do for the school,” Mirr said of her affiliation with the Sorella Soci-ety. The group recently held a “Tackle Cancer” flag football tournament which raised money for the Upstate Cancer Center with the help of Sig-ma Chi, Kappa Kappa Gamma and the Breast Cancer Awareness Coalition. They also plan to hold a White Ribbon Campaign for the Vera House in the spring. The Vera House provides relief and rehabilitation for those affected by do-mestic violence.

For next year, Mirr’s plans include moving to Wyoming with friends to “sort things out.” She dreams of becoming an environmental consultant for Patagonia.

To nominate a senior for  In The Light e-mail [email protected].