Peter Lupfer didn’t say goodbye to Stony Brook University when he graduated in the spring of 2021 – he went with “see you later.” It was hard to believe that two and a half years prior, he’d almost transferred out of the university altogether.

“I was succeeding and doing well, my grades were good, I was involved in clubs, I lived on campus – I didn’t necessarily have any of the traditional risk factors of not wanting to stay,” he says. “But I wasn’t really feeling at home here.”

“Once I got more directly involved with the Ice Hockey Club and made the decision to move off campus, everything changed. That might not be the traditional route most people take to feel more at home here, but that’s what worked for me.”

Instead of transferring to another university, Peter transitioned from journalism to history and ended up completing a five-year program in just four years despite having changed his major. Before he became a trailblazer in Stony Brook’s Division of Student Affairs, Peter held several teaching positions at high schools in the Middle Country Central School District from January 2021 to June 2022.

“Teaching is something I loved and was passionate about,” he says. “When I heard about this position, I saw it as an opportunity to support a greater number of students in higher education.”

Peter views his own college experience as a success story he now aims to help students emulate. His position – Student Success Specialist – is a new role at SBU. It combines large-scale planning with one-on-one attention to engage students and address their needs, big and small.

As part of this new role, Peter was tasked with creating an internship program to identify and address ways to improve the student experience at Stony Brook. He aptly named it PLUS, or Proactive Leaders for Undergraduate Success. Its official launch will coincide with the start of the Spring 2023 term with five interns who were selected in December.

Although the program is sure to evolve throughout its pilot semester, the PLUS team’s first course of action is to conduct surveys to identify and support students who may be struggling to find their groove on campus.

“S​​tudies show that most successful students have that balance of not just studying, not just focusing on assignments and exams, but also getting out, socializing, and fitting in those pieces of the puzzle that come outside the classroom – that really round out your experience here at Stony Brook,” he says.

“And there’s so much opportunity to do great things here, both academically and socially. So, with the PLUS team, we really want to make sure that students are aware and taking advantage of all the wonderful things Stony Brook has to offer.”

For his part, Peter is still involved with the Ice Hockey Club he was so passionate about and for which he served as team treasurer. Now he volunteers as the Assistant General Manager. Many of his fellow hockey alumni have also stayed involved after graduating, he says.

Once a dissatisfied student on the brink of transferring, Peter Lupfer flipped the script and found a lifelong home at Stony Brook. Now he’s on a mission to help the university’s next generation of students do the same.