Lehigh 360 introduces new database

The Lehigh 360 High-Impact Programs Database was designed to make campus, work and global program opportunities easier for students to find. 

Lehigh 360 was created by the Office of Creative Inquiry in 2017. According to their website, the initiative helps students connect their passions with high-impact programs.

“The purpose is really to democratize access to high-impact opportunities, then experiential learning,” Michelle Spada, program manager of Lehigh 360, said. “We’re giving every student the opportunity to take what they’re learning in the classroom and apply it out in the real world.” 

Bill Whitney, assistant vice provost for experiential learning programs, said the Office of Creative Inquiries wanted to get more students involved in extracurricular programs. 

“We discovered there was a pretty wide gap in how many Lehigh students were getting involved outside of their major,” Whitney said. “A lot of students were graduating not having taken advantage of these high-impact opportunities.”

Spada said some of Lehigh 360’s offerings include scholarships and PreLUsion, which is a pre-orientation program for first-year students.

One new scholarship offered to the class of 2028 is the Soaring Together Scholarship, a full-tuition scholarship celebrating 50 years of coeducation at Lehigh. 

Akanksha Gavade, ‘26, said while many students know they want to get involved, they find it hard to find the right program. 

“I’ve heard lots of individual stories about how students wanted to look for something in particular in research,” Gavade said. “But before Lehigh 360, they weren’t able to find anything off the bat.” 

Gavade said the platform is structured in different ‘buckets’, or sections, for leadership, global experiences and on-campus impact. 

Whitney said making advisors and professors aware of Lehigh 360 can give students an early start in applying to programs and gaining experience. 

As the database grows, Whitney said the next steps will be bringing everyone to a single catalog and tailoring suggestions based on the user’s interests and prior experience. 

The end goal is to give students ways to develop strong resumes and gain experience for future job offers and interviews. 

The database became available in October 2022. In the months since, little data has been collected. 

“We still have many students come back and say it’s an incredible resource,” Whitney said. “The future will eventually hold all the stats and tracks.”