Lasting Skills for Lifelong Success
PBHA teaches concrete skills that impact professional success long after graduation.
Alumni across the board reported that volunteering at PBHA equipped them with competencies to thrive and make an impact in a wide variety of social impact fields following graduation. Those who participated in summer internships, director and officer roles, and the Chan Stride program reported even higher transformative leadership development. More broadly, these findings suggest that hundreds of PBHA volunteers graduate from Harvard College every year with the competencies and confidence to lead and contribute to global and local social justice initiatives.
Of respondents involved in intensive PBHA programming
79% of respondents reported they developed a deeper belief in their capabilities
More than half of respondents reported PBHA helped them develop:
creative problem solving skills
content-area skills, including teaching, fundraising, budgeting, and legal advocacy
the skills to deliver quality programming that address community need
88% reported learning effective leadership and management skills, including strategic planning, meeting facilitation, decision making, and supervising
91% came to think of themselves as a leader due to their PBHA involvement
PBHA facilitates a sense of belonging on campus that encourages diverse leadership, especially for first-generation, BIPOC, and low-income students.
In the alumni survey, low-income, first-generation, and BIPOC alumni credited PBHA’s programs and supports, especially PBHA’s community, culture, values, and staff, with providing a deep sense of belonging at Harvard.
In the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision regarding affirmative action, the importance of PBHA as a place of belonging for BIPOC students is even more critical.
PBHA instills empathy and the ability to work with people from a wide range of backgrounds and communities.
Alumni shared that they left PBHA better able to work effectively across difference and with more empathy for others’ lived experiences. PBHA volunteers reported developing a connection to the communities they worked in while at PBHA. Additionally, more affluent students reported learning about equity and anti-racism through PBHA’s programming
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Reported that PBHA helped them work effectively with people of different backgrounds to achieve common goals
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Felt that they developed a connection to the communities they worked with while at PBHA
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Reported that PBHA influenced their sense of the importance of having empathy for others’ lived experiences
