A unique feature of the Enhancing Ecological Education Scholarship Program at Paul Smith's College is its setting: the college is embedded in the Adirondack Park in upstate New York. Within this 6 million acre natural resource, the College recruits students who are passionate about careers in Environmental Science and Fisheries & Wildlife Science and are academically talented, yet are financially needy. Particularly targeting students transferring from two-year institutions and first-generation college students, the program supports them financially (with scholarships up to four years) and academically. Students join research laboratories at the College such as those in the Adirondack Watershed Institute and the Center for Adirondack Biodiversity to enhance their commitment to STEM careers. This experience strengthens their performance on their senior capstone project which is required of all Paul Smith's graduates. Numerous mechanisms at Paul Smith's identify challenges early and offer strategies to address challenges as well as provide opportunities for students to develop their scientific expertise. This enhances students' persistence as science majors through graduation and primes them to compete for jobs in the natural sciences. Of the scholarship recipients, it is expected that 90% will complete a bachelor's degree and either join the work force or continue to graduate school.
