Fall 2012 | Vol. 6 | No. 2
INSIDE ITHACA
Hitting ƒe
High Notes
Mengchun Yang ’13 Commands the Stage
Spreading the Olympic Experience also inside
10 Walking Tall
exploring the options Fall 2012 in ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 3 18 A Semester London
WITH THE FUSE STAFF Having done our own college searches, we know how hard it is to make the right choice, especially when all the information you get sounds so similar. That’s why we’ve created Fuse magazine, a publication that gives you a firsthand glimpse of the Ithaca College experience through stories and photography by current IC students. Is Ithaca right for you? It’s your choice—and we hope this makes it easier.
—Fuse staff
FALL 2012 | Vol. 6 | No. 2
We asked our Fuse staff where their favorite place is to hang out offcampus and why.
Writer/Editors Alexandra Evans ’13 Brittany Gilpin ’12 Conor Harrington ’13 Evan Johnson ’13 Kristin Leffler ’14 Nicole Ogrysko ’13 Photo Editor Jacob Lifschultz ’13
Photographers Zachary Blitz ’14 Krystal Cannon ’14 Colleen Cunha ’13 Matthew Prokosch ’13 Anika Steppe ’13
Contributors Alexandra Evans '13
The Ithaca Farmer's Market at Steamboat Landing is a great place to walk around with friends and buy fresh, local produce. Plus, you can relax on the dock by the lake.
Krystal Cannon '14
I really like spending time offcampus at some of the various co-ops around Ithaca. A lot of them organize rallies and have concerts and other events that are open to the entire Ithaca community.
Evan Johnson '13
The firebreak on South Hill behind campus is a peaceful place to sit and watch sunrise/ sunset. Bring a picnic and it's a great (and not to mention cheap) spot for a date.
Collin Schuck '13 Gillian Smith '12 Elizabeth Stoltz '13
Director of Admission Gerard Turbide
Executive Editor Bonny Georgia Griffith ’92
Managing Editor Lisa N. Maresca
Web Editor David Cameron ’96
Design Colleen Cunha '13
I love hanging out at Collegetown Bagels! The food is great, the atmosphere very laid back, and the art is all fantastic local stuff!
Matt Prokosch '13
My favorite place to hang out off-campus is at the waterfalls in Ithaca because they provide awesome photographic opportunities.
Brittany Gilpin '12
The Commons has great food, live music, and quirky local shops. It's a fun place to hang out with friends after class.
Melissa Chiotti Cristina Eagan Katherine Malcuria
Cover Photography Adam Baker
Print Manager Peter M. Kilcoyne ’05
Fuse is a green publication. Read it and recycle it. Or better yet—share it with a friend! This publication uses 21,607 pounds of paper, which has a postconsumer recycled percentage of 10 percent: 18 trees preserved for the future · 52 pounds of waterborne waste not created · 7,710 gallons of wastewater flow saved · 853 pounds of solid waste not generated · 1,680 pounds of net greenhouse gases prevented · 12,856,165 BTUs of energy not consumed · 9,745 pounds of greenhouse gases not generated · 9,644 miles of automobile travel saved · The equivalent of 663 trees planted. Source: Mohawk Environmental Calculator
Contents
COVER STORY: HITTING THE HIGH NOTES
Vol. 6 I No. 2
2 4 5
Mengchun Yang ’13 Commands the Stage
Inside Ithaca Outside Ithaca After Ithaca
Written By
Nicole Ogrysko ’13 Photos By
Zac Blitz '14, Adam Baker, and courtesy of the Department of Theatre Arts
7 10
12
Walking Tall
Exploring the Options
By Gillian Smith ’12
BY Nicole Ogrysko ’13
14
17
Spreading the Olympic Experience By Collin Schuck ’13
18
Golden Girl
Minding the Gap
By Brittany Gilpin ’12
By Nicole Ogrysko ’13
20
24
All in the Details
Filling Bellies and Hearts
By Brittany Gilpin ’12
By Elizabeth Stoltz ’13
Visit US ONLINE ithaca.edu/fuse
Follow Us on Twitter twitter.com/icfuse
Find us on Facebook facebook.com/icfuse
INSIDE ITHACA
Searching the Skies With help from physics professors Matthew Price and Bruce Thompson, students Chris Stathis ’11 and Ivan Tso ’15 constructed the electronics for a new radio telescope, which now sits near the Clinton B. Ford Observatory on campus. A radio telescope looks similar to a large satellite dish and detects and collects information from radio sources in space. What began as a senior thesis project will soon give physics students an opportunity to use the telescope to gather data and conduct hands-on research. Recently the team was excited to witness the telescope’s “first light,” or signal from the sun. With the telescope right on campus, students will learn to set up and fix the equipment themselves—practice that will make students competitive when applying to graduate school or breaking into the industry. “We may not discover something Nobel Prize worthy with our radio telescope,” Price says, “but we will be training scientists who may go out and do something Nobel worthy.”
(From left) Professor Bruce Thompson, Professor Matthew Price, Chris Stathis ’11, Nathan Porter ’11, Victoria Roberts ’12, and Jennifer Mellott, a technician in the physics department, stand with the dish section of the telescope.
Playing with Pride Ithaca College’s intercollegiate athletics was chosen as one of the nation’s top 10 LGBT-friendly college sports programs, according to Campus Pride’s Out to Play Project. Campus Pride is a national organization that strives to create safe campus environments for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. Campus Pride noted IC’s support systems on and off the playing field, particularly with the College’s efforts to sponsor on-campus speakers, training programs, and organizations, such as the Association for Gay and Straight fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 2
on academics.”
LIST FOR COLLEGE ATHLETICS
Student Athletes (AGSSA). Anna Lawrence ’12, track athlete and AGSSA president, says the Bombers set an example for other college sports programs to welcome all student-athletes. “I am so proud to be part of a school whose emphasis on equality isn’t just
Lis Maurer, program director for Ithaca College’s Center for LGBT Education, Outreach, and Services, adds, “Coaches and students regularly consult with me to assure all programs, policies, and practices represent the best of inclusiveness, respect, and support. I'm very pleased to support their work.” Learn more at ithaca.edu/sacl/lgbt.
Speech-Language
New
Pathology Makes Strides
Admission Options
The Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology has launched a new pilot program aimed at helping nonverbal children, mainly those with autism, work on their communication skills. The program, called Strides, is an equine therapy program that incorporates a communication development component using speech-generating software on a device such as an iPad. Three graduate students—Lauren Vollmin, M.S. ’13; Maritsa Sherenian, M.S. ’13; and Caitlyn Bergin, M.S. ’13—worked on the program at a nearby horse stable. The recreational atmosphere motivates the children to communicate to others what they are thinking and feeling. “The kids love being on a horse,” says faculty instructor Tina Caswell. “They love riding and being in the barn. It’s motivating. This motivational activity provides the kids with an opportunity to practice their communication skills in a relaxed and enjoyable environment.”
Strides focuses on increasing the children’s social-pragmatic language skills and social communication interactions with others. During the horseback riding sessions, the children use the iPad with the speech-generating software as a means to communicate. Parents, too, learn to use the device so that they and their children can take what they learn from the barn and use it at home and during other social activities. “The clients have made great strides!” says Caswell.
Lan Samantha Chang
Lan Samantha Chang visits later in October also as part of the Distinguished Visiting Writers series. Chang is the director of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop at the University of Iowa and is the author of several awardwinning books.
All applicants (except those who were home schooled) have the option to either submit SAT or ACT scores as part of their admission file or withhold them altogether from consideration.
Hard Hat Update Philip Gourevitch
Anne Fadiman
This semester, Ithaca College welcomes several visitors to share their insights and expertise with the campus community. Thomas Sayers Ellis, author of The Maverick Room and Skin, Inc.: Identity Repair Poems, will visit campus in September to give a public reading as part of the Department of Writing Distinguished Visiting Writers series.
IC is now test scores optional!
Learn more at stinc.org.
Big Names Visit IC Thomas Sayers Ellis
Ithaca College is now offering a nonbinding early action round of admission to students. Students who complete their application to Ithaca College by December 1 and select Early Action on their Common Application will be notified of an admission decision by February 1 and will have until May 1 to submit their enrollment deposit.
Giving a public reading in late October is Philip Gourevitch, a staff writer for the New Yorker and author of We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda. Author, essayist, editor, and teacher Anne Fadiman will be on campus this November as part of the Distinguished Speaker in the Humanities lecture series.
IC has been busy with construction projects to improve the college experience for students. A new athletic training facility, a new gym floor and bleachers, and more classrooms are being added to the Hill Center. Improvements will be made to the exterior, with new landscaping and a new entrance. The Office of Residential Life expanded the Circle Apartments complex with the addition of over 150 beds, more than 100 new parking spaces, and a 2,500-square-foot addition to the Circle Apartments community center. fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 3
OUTSIDE ITHACA
Top Brass
Ithaca College
This past June, hundreds of low brass enthusiasts traveled to the 2012 International Tuba and Euphonium Conference in Linz, Austria, for a week of competitions, clinics, classes, and seminars. Among the hundreds there were four Ithaca College students.
Heads to
the Big Apple!
New York City has always been a hub of international culture and commerce, and now Ithaca College students can experience the excitement while furthering their education. The semester-long ICNYC program is open to select majors from all five schools. It centers on a six-credit internship and coursework. Students take classroom-based and online courses, choosing from such titles as Commercial Law, Political Campaign Imagery, Government and Media, and Travel Writing.
the program and are interning with Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with David Letterman, and Rolling Stone, among others. Andrew Steedman ’13, a business administration major, interned last spring at Madison Square Garden in the president’s office at MSG Sports. There he conducted research for the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League, and coordinated events for the president’s office. “For an upstate school to offer a program like this is amazing,” he says.
This fall 22 students are taking part in
The World Is Our Classroom
Asma Barlas, director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity, spoke about Islam, feminism, and secular democracy in Istanbul, Turkey, and gave two presentations in Melbourne, Australia.
Occupational therapy professor Carole Dennis presented at the Council of Occupational Therapy for the European Countries in Stockholm, Sweden.
Fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 4
Learn more at ithaca.edu/oip/nyc.
Michael Horsford, M.M. ’13, competed in the Artist Solo Tuba division, Peter Best-Hall ’15 competed in the Young Artist Euphonium solo competition, and Bill Connors ’13 and Eric Hoang, M.M. ’13, competed in the Arnold Jacobs Mock Orchestral Tuba competition. IC alumni were also on hand to showcase their talent. Mike Vecchio ’08 competed in the Artist Euphonium solo competition, and Christian Carichner ’05 and Aaron Rivkin ’09 gave solo recitals as well. Carichner performed two pieces by Tyler Oglivie ’05. Aaron Tindall, assistant professor of tuba and euphonium, gave a full solo recital and performed the world premiere of IC composition professor and composer Dana Wilson's new Concerto for Tuba.
Ithaca College professors were quite the world travelers last summer as they presented their research and publications around the globe.
Orchestra director Jeffery Meyer organized the Troika International Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Biology professor Andy Smith presented at the First International Conference on Biological and Biomimetic Adhesives in Lisbon, Portugal.
Cinema, photography, and media arts professor Patricia Zimmermann published an essay on the history of the Robert Flaherty Film Seminar for the University of St. Andrew’s in Scotland.
Photos by Yi-Ching Lin
AFTER ITHACA
Doughnuts Done Well Peanut butter and jelly. Tangerine. Sweet potato pie. They’re innovative flavors for doughnuts as it is, but to taste them as vegan sweet treats? Many would be in for a sweet surprise. The all-vegan Dun-Well Doughnuts, co-owned by Dan Dunbar '06 and Chris Hollowell '06, was recently proclaimed by the Daily News as having the best doughnuts in New York City. Dun-Well, located in Brooklyn, has about 100 varieties to choose from, and none contain cholesterol. The fact that they are not made with eggs or milk isn’t something Dunbar and
Hollowell actively promote. “You don’t see the word ‘vegan’ posted anywhere in the shop,” Dunbar says. “It’s more of a revelation.” The two bring an organic, local-food approach to their business, and omitting dairy from their recipe was a sustainable choice for the IC grads. “While my grandmother used eggs in her bakery, she was getting them from the chicken coop out back, not from an industrial factory farm,” Hollowell says. “We try to keep things as local and sustainable as possible in our shop.”
Spread the Music Ever since Luben Daniel ’12 first came to Ithaca College as a music education major and clarinet player, his goal was to return to his home on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands to teach music. Now his aspiration is becoming a reality. Daniel will soon take over as band director at his former high school. He says the IC School of Music courses and the experience he gained with Ithaca’s concert and symphonic bands gave him the skills and confidence to dive into a teaching position after graduation. “IC’s music education program transformed me into an all-around educator, flexible and capable enough to adapt and achieve success in any situation,” he says. “It was all worthwhile, hands-on prep for instructing, assessing, and managing students.”
Say Yes to the Dress Julie Levitt ’11 rocked the College’s blue and gold colors as an undergrad, but these days she’s seeing a lot more white. Last year, Levitt, a former integrated marketing communications major, launched Magnolia by Marionat, a line of wedding gowns that complement Marionat’s widely successful collection of bridal accessories. As fashion director for the company, Levitt designs the dresses and travels the world—from China to Chicago and New York—to promote them. “My dream is that these designs take off,” Levitt says. “I want to reach more consumers and build more lines. Hopefully growth is in the future.”
Fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 5
Head to ithaca.edu/fuse to find multimedia extras and bonus content for stories from this issue, as well as new features, photos, and exclusive updates from the Fuse student staff.
CURRENT HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE
ARTICLE: Cold Call
ARTICLE: Growing Season
Go behind the scenes of the NHL with business student Samuel Gelman ’13 during his internship for the New York Islanders.
multimedia: IC Natural Lands
ARTICLE: Local Connections Find out where IC students are interning locally this summer, while gaining practical, real-world experience, just a short distance from Ithaca College.
Learn more about IC's new, sustainable permaculture garden and how students lend a hand in keeping its flowers, herbs, and vegetables in bloom all year long.
Explore the Natural Lands and learn how IC students and faculty are researching the native plants and animals that make up the forests and trails right on campus.
Check Out
SOCIAL Follow Fuse on Facebook, Twitter, and more, and share your favorite Fuse stories with the links on our site. Fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 6
By Nicole Ogrysko ’13
Hitting ƒe
High Notes
Mengchun Yang ’13 Commands the Stage It’s hard for any student going away to college for the first time, but it’s especially difficult to create that “home away from home” atmosphere when your home is more than 6,000 miles away. » Fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 7
F
or vocal performance major and graduate student Mengchun Yang ’13, music—and the people she works with in the School of Music—bridges the gap between her home in China and her new life at Ithaca College. “Music is my best friend,” says Yang. “It can help me bring my emotions out, and it can let me see into the composer’s world.”
audition, Yang impressed DeMaris by learning both pieces overnight. DeMaris says it takes an exceptional kind of soprano to perform the Queen’s arias, and Yang worked hard to perfect her performance during rehearsals.
Yang had never visited the United States before, so leaving her home in China for a school in an unfamiliar country was a daunting task. Yet Yang wanted to focus on building skills that she couldn’t learn in China, like following a rehearsal schedule, developing a complete opera, and learning about music style and history.
To fully capture the Queen’s wicked persona, Yang spent hours practicing her facial expressions in front of a mirror, so the audience could fully realize the character’s anger and hidden evil.
“I want to learn about American culture, and I want to see the world,” Yang says. “This is why I came to America to study. I want to learn from the best and teach in China in the future.” Rather than attending a college in a large city, Yang chose Ithaca because its local atmosphere was more relaxed, making her transition to the States easier. Like most new students, Yang faced the challenges of handling a heavy course load and finding her way around campus. On top of that, she had taken on the additional burden of speaking and writing in English, her second language. But Yang jumped right in. Just three weeks after she arrived here, Yang auditioned for the opera The Magic Flute as part of IC’s annual main-stage collaboration between the School of Music and the Department of Theatre Arts. Brian DeMaris, music director and conductor for The Magic Flute, asked Yang to prepare a small section of one of the Queen of the Night’s arias for callback. The role of the Queen of the Night, a lead role in the opera, is notoriously challenging. The character sings two operatic arias, both of which span two and a half octaves, which meant that Yang had to master the Queen’s extreme highs and lows. When she came back the next day for her second Fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 8
“I remember always seeing people peer into the auditorium whenever she was onstage,” he says.
Rehearsing for five hours, seven days a week was tough for Yang, but she says the support she received from her fellow cast members and directors as they practiced was worth it. The cast and crew became a second family to her. The cast sang to her on her birthday, and during one of the performances, the crew recorded Yang’s aria, so she could send it to her parents in China. Though she was nervous during her first few performances, Yang says seeing her friends and faculty in the audience made her feel more at ease. “That made me feel like family,” she says. “I felt like, ‘Okay, I can sing to my family.”’ Yang found that this sense of family extended beyond her preparations for The Magic Flute. Several of her professors sent her emails to check in with how she was adjusting to life away from home. During Thanksgiving break, when most students went home, DeMaris invited Yang and a few other students to his house for dinner. After graduation, Yang plans to return to China to earn a doctorate degree in musical arts, but she has performance goals in mind, too. “I really want to be a professional opera singer,” Yang says. “It doesn’t matter if the opera company is big or not. For me, the important thing is the experience. I see my life onstage.” a
"Music is my best friend. It can help me bring my emotions out, and it can let me see into the composer’s world.”
Performing Photos by Zac Blitz ’14 and courtesy of the Department of Theatre Arts and Adam Baker
At ic
If you’re a singer like Mengchun—or even if you aren’t—there are plenty of opportunities for you to perform while at IC. bBrass Choir bChamber Orchestra bChoir bChorus bConcert Band bContemporary Ensemble bFlute Choir bGuitar Ensemble bJazz Ensemble bMadrigal Singers bOpera bOpera Workshop bPercussion Ensembles b Period Instrument Performance Ensemble bPiano Ensembles bSymphonic Band bSymphony Orchestra bVocal Jazz Ensemble bWind Ensemble bWomen's Chorale
Learn more about IC’s music programs at ithaca.edu/music/programs.
Fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 9
By Gillian Smith ’12
Physical therapy grad gets patients back on their feet
Fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 10
“The clinical experience I had at Kessler while at IC really opened doors for me, and I was able to interview with the institute and get a job.”
J
ill Cadby changes lives for a living.
For most physical therapy students, landing a job at one of the country’s leading rehabilitation centers would be the ultimate career goal realized. For Jill Cadby, it’s her everyday reality. Thanks to the physical therapy program at Ithaca College, Cadby changes lives every day at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation.
Cadby graduated in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy. She then entered the College’s transitional doctorate in physical therapy (D.P.T.) program, receiving her master’s degree in May 2010 and completing the D.P.T. program the following December. Through a series of clinical rotations, Cadby was able to narrow down exactly what she felt most passionate about and where she wanted to work.
Photos by Steve Hockstein/Harvard Studio
Her first clinical rotation was among patients with developmental disabilities, which got her interested in the Special Olympics. Cadby and some classmates volunteered to help with the soccer, skiing, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing events at the New York State Special Olympics, which she describes as a great experience. “It really sparked my interest,” Cadby says. “I’ve continued working with the Special Olympics even after that affiliation.”
Cadby did three more rotations: one at an outpatient facility in Florida, one at a trauma center in her hometown of Buffalo, New York, and the last at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey, where she now works. “Kessler is a really good learning environment. You rotate on a yearly basis,” Cadby says. “The clinical experience at Kessler really opened doors for me, and I was able to interview with the institute and get a job.” Cadby works with patients who have either suffered strokes or are amputees, assisting them with walking exercises on a body-weight supported treadmill system. “I gained some experience with locomotor training during my final clinical assignment,” she says. “My patients walk on the ground afterward to try to get some carryover from the treadmill to the ground. I love that work. I get to do that every day.” Cadby says her experience at Kessler as an intern shaped her future in a positive way, and she is grateful to the professors who helped her get there. “My professors respected me as a future colleague,” she says. “It made me feel like I could actually be a good therapist.” Cadby took her education across the sea, too, when as an undergraduate she travelled with a group of eight students to Malawi, Africa, to work with families and educate them about health care. She hopes to return one day to volunteer and find more ways to assist the people of Malawi.
“Malawi was a true life-changing opportunity,” she says. “It made me appreciate my profession and how I can really help change the lives of others for the better." "I would like to come up with some sort of sustainable mechanism for food or growth for the country,” she continues. “It’s such a special country, and it makes you realize how much you take for granted here.” But for now, she’s happy and fulfilled by her position at Kessler and plans to be there for a long time. Her ultimate goal is to become a clinical specialist of neurology. Thanks to her education at Ithaca, she feels ready to grow both personally and professionally. “I couldn’t be in a better place at this point in my life,” she says. a
Ithaca’s Physical Therapy Program The College’s six-year doctoral program looks like this: b Three years on campus studying liberal arts b Ten weeks of coursework after the third year b Eight weeks of clinical internship following the fourth year b Twelve weeks of clinical internship during the summer of the sixth year b Summer after junior year and final year spent at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Strong Memorial Hospital
To learn more about a career in physical therapy, visit ithaca.edu/physical-therapy.
Fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 11
By Nicole Ogrysko ’13
“The Exploratory Program gave me the freedom to really make sure that I found the right major for me.”
Photos by Krystal Cannon '14 and Adam Baker
Fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 12
M
usic was always a big part of Mike Severo’s life. He loved playing the drums. But when it came time to go to college, he wanted to pursue something that he felt would offer a little more stability for the future. The big question was what to study.
“At a lot of institutions, if you’re undeclared you have to find your own way, and it’s an arduous process,” Severo says. “At Ithaca, there’s a concentration on growing organically with the school.”
faculty adviser who works with them to choose courses and discuss career goals. Exploratory students even have first pick when registering for classes. For Mia Canale ’13, talking with an adviser—who also taught her freshman seminar called Moral Psychology and the Seven Deadly Sins— helped her identify her personal preferences and interests. Those conversations contributed to her choice of speechlanguage pathology and audiology as her major.
If searching through the course catalog gets overwhelming and choosing a major seems daunting, Ithaca College’s Exploratory Program may be the right choice. Exploratory students have up to four semesters to sample a diverse course load that can help pinpoint their interests before they declare a major. Severo’s freshman seminar about math and music first spurred his interest in working with numbers. His financial accounting professor later encouraged him to consider business and accounting, and they discussed the possible routes he could take in the industry. Severo decided on a major in business administration, with concentrations in accounting and finance, and a minor in economics. He says his exploratory classes gave him reasoning, communications, and analytical skills—experience that he applied to his internship at investment bank FBR and made him more well-rounded. “The classes I took as an exploratory student definitely shaped who I am today,” he says. Karla Lopez ’14 wasn’t entirely comfortable with her decision to major in business when she came to IC, so she decided to enter into the Exploratory Program to consider her options. “It gave me the freedom to really make sure,” Lopez says. “Because of the Exploratory Program, I found out what major was right for me.” Lopez took a variety of courses during her first semester, but it was a class on storytelling that really stood out for her. During class, Lopez analyzed how popular stories were told, and she learned to express ideas clearly and concisely—skills she now utilizes as a DJ at WICB, the College’s on-campus radio station. Lopez ultimately chose communication studies as her major, and she’s thinking about a career in radio, based on her experiences in class and on the air.
“My adviser had me think about what kind of person I am and what I like to do in general,” Canale says. “Am I the type of person who’s going to sit in an office? Do I want to be outside? Do I want to work with people and be hands-on?” Severo says the Exploratory Program not only gave him the independence to discover what he liked but also gave him the personalized guidance to help him stay on track to graduate. “You’re not in a sea of people where you just keep your head down, take the two exams in a semester, and that’s that,” he says. “You build real relationships not only with your peers but also with your professors.” Canale agrees. With the help of the Exploratory Program, she was able to discover a new passion in speech pathology. “You’re not being put at the bottom of the pile because you don’t know what you want to do,” says Canale. “You’re at the top.” a
Highlights Exploratory Program Haven’t picked a major yet? That’s okay—about 20 percent of each incoming freshman class hasn’t either. The Exploratory Program can help future graduates figure it out. b Work one-on-one with an experienced academic adviser. b Select classes on the first day of registration week. b Choose a variety of courses from all five schools. Learn more about the Exploratory Program at ithaca.edu/hs/exploratory.
One of the most important components of the Exploratory Program is academic advising. Students are paired with a Fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 13
OUTSIDE ITHACA
By Collin Schuck ’13
Collin Schuck ’13, Journalism, Centra l Tape Logger, Lond on
don l, Lon o o P , radio sioni v e l 13, te rry ’ e P h Sara
“It's an honor to be involved in an event that holds so much merit on a global scale.” – Andrew Kristy ’14, Journalism, Prime-Time Logger, London Fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 14
Car ly G ill ’13, tel evis ion -ra dio , Ad Ins ert er,
New Yor k
Spreading the
Olympic Experience Even at the Olympics, I managed to have a “typical Ithaca experience.”
IC Interns Olympics – at the –
Photos courtesy of Danielle D'Avanzo '13, Carly Gill '13, Sarah Perry '13, Collin Schuck '13, and Bruce Beck '78.
One day during the games in London, some fellow IC interns and I met Ithaca College alumnus Bruce Beck '78 in Olympic Park. Beck, who is the lead sports anchor for WNBC-TV in New York, walked with us to the bridge by Olympic Village to take some pictures. Suddenly the sky opened and rain soaked us. We ran to the International Broadcast Center (IBC) where, only a few minutes later, the sun came out again. It was like being at home in Ithaca.
“Nothing in the world is like the Olympics. I hope to make good connections and gain new career skills out of this internship.” –
That’s just one of my experiences from the London 2012 Olympic Games. There are thousands of employees working under the umbrella of NBC—and thousands more internationally—and over 150 of them are interns. Each has an Olympic story to tell. Mine is one of thousands of stories, told to friends, family, and in some cases the masses.
While Collin worked at Central Tape in London, there were 34 other IC interns in London and New York working in various positions and areas.
b Production associate b Logger b Runner b Ad inserter b Sports desk b Highlights factory
Stationed at the IBC in London, I was one of 12 interns logging in Central Tape, where all the live feeds from Erin Dunphy ’13, Journalism, the Olympic sports came through. Athletics Logger, London We recorded various Olympic events for producers and editors to use for highlights and rebroadcasts. If we logged a race, we wrote down when it started, when it ended, who won the race, and all of the camera shots taken before, during, and after the race. While loggers at the individual venues only logged events at those venues, we worked with all sports, including the prime-time broadcast run on NBC. Some of my story takes place at Central Tape, but a lot of it happens outside of logging. In London, every day was a new adventure. b For a full list of the interns, and for more photos, view the online version of this story at ithaca.edu/fuse.
Fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 15
“Spending a month in a foreign city was amazing! This was the perfect way for me to combine the rewards of an internship with the experience of learning about another culture.” –Hannah Coulson ’13, Television-Radio, Prime-Time Runner, London
ily Gaffney '13, Jason Rickel '13, Em ck '13, Matt Milson, sto Alex Cartini '14 , ben '78 Hau x Beck Ale ce ]: , Bru Back Row [L-R [L-R]: Sarah Perry '13 Row nt Fro '13 um Dylan Hornbl
Here's part of my story from Friday, August 3:
1:30 p.m.
After drying off from my rainsoaked adventure with Beck, I explore Olympic Park. It reminds me of Walt Disney World: people from all cultures, friendly attendants, signs everywhere, and venues as far as the eye can see. It’s roughly a 30- to 40-minute walk from one end to the other. The biggest attractions are the Olympic rings, Olympic Stadium, and Park Live—a grand, grassy hill where spectators can watch the live BBC broadcast on a large projection screen.
2:30 p.m.
Right next to Olympic Stadium is a small garden to celebrate “Get Set,” an education program for schools across the UK. Inside, children can do face painting, play games, and learn about the Olympics. One section is a long archway where people can write messages and display them for all to see. Looking in, you can see a cornucopia of colors with patrons stopping to read messages, which vary from “Go Team Great Britain” to “I’m a sign—RAWR.” The most compelling are those written by young children to their idols, hoping they bring home gold.
3:00 p.m.
My workday begins. I report to Central Tape for my assignments. Scheduled is women’s basketball, which is where I begin. Soon after, I jump to an event I know nothing about: the Women’s 75kg Group A Weightlifting Final. As I work with each new sport, I learn more about how it operates and what one does to earn a gold medal. For the most part, logging is simple and laid back. Most sports don’t require intense focus, but all require attention to detail. Sitting in front of a computer screen does get draining, but the people and energy keep it fun.
7:30 p.m.
After dinner I am back at work, waiting for my next basketball assignment while watching the final individual swimming competitions. While I wait, I witness U.S. swimmers Missy Franklin breaking a world record in the 200-meter backstroke, Katie Ledecky breaking a world record in the 800-meter freestyle (at age 15), Cullen Jones winning silver in the 50-meter freestyle, and Michael Phelps winning his 17th gold medal—his final individual medal—in the 100-meter butterfly. (The next night, I will see Phelps walk by me as he finishes his hour-long studio interview with Bob Costas.)
midnight
After logging two women’s basketball games, my day is done.
This experience has opened a door for all of us interns to network, make new friends, and see a foreign city. The people I’ve met along the way and contacts I’ve made are priceless. It’s been a once-in-a-lifetime experience I’ll never forget. It all adds up to the story of my Olympics. And what do we do with our stories—the pictures we take, the people we meet, the memories we create, the lasting bonds formed? When it’s all said and done, when the torch is passed to Rio de Janeiro and all the athletes and fans have gone home, what’s left to do? Share our stories and make everyone part of our adventure. a Fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 16
AFTER ITHACA
BY Brittany Gilpin ’12
RL I G N E D GOL
KI ’05 ROWS IC N S U M N A MEGH LD FOR THE GO
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Rowing tesy of U.S. Photo cour
Athletes from all over the world hear the call of Olympic glory. And the ones from Ithaca are no exception. When Meghan Musnicki ’05 transferred to Ithaca College during her sophomore year, she joined the College’s rowing team and went on to win two NCAA trophies. Lately Musnicki’s been training in deeper waters: she has taken home the gold at the World Rowing Championships and more recently won the gold medal as part of the women’s eight at the 2012 Olympic Games.
For four years Musnicki has trained with the U.S. Women’s Rowing Team and has made the team roster three times, including the London 2012 Olympic Games, held this past summer. She trained six to seven days per week with her Olympic teammates and worked out two to four times each day. “It’s a full-time job,” she says. “It requires a great deal of commitment and dedication to what you’re doing because you really don’t have the time—or energy for that matter—to do much of anything else.”
Training is a full-time job. It requires a great deal of commitment and dedication.
"It feels amazing to have won the gold," says Musnicki. "I row with an amazing group of women. We all wanted the same thing and stuck with our race plan from start to finish."
Musnicki rowed crew throughout her time at IC, but her Olympic aspirations only sprang up after she graduated with a degree in psychology. “I always had a passion to compete and train and be fast,” she says. “I started training more regularly and more intensely, and that’s when I was like, ‘I really want to give this a go and see what happens with rowing.’”
Musnicki says her time as an IC student prepared her for her rigorous Olympic training—and the pediatric nursing career that she plans to have follow. She says the lessons she’s learned about hard work are applicable to any challenge she may face. “Right now, rowing is the most challenging and difficult thing, but when I’m done, I’ll be able to face much harder obstacles than making a rowing team.” a
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BY Nicole Ogrysko ’13
MY SEMESTER ABROAD IN LONDON
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AFTER ITHACA On my first day across the pond, I picked up a map of the Underground—the Tube, as Londoners call it—and set off to explore the city. But the more I looked at the map, clearly intended for locals, the more incredibly confused I became. At the time, I couldn’t have imagined that by the end of the semester, the maze of underground tunnels would become more than just a tangle of colored lines and dots on a page. I was soon off and running and eventually discovered how to get around the city. From classes at the Ithaca College London Center (ICLC) to my internship at NBC News and visits to Parliament and the Royal Albert Hall, the Tube quickly became my lifeline in exploring a new city and culture for a semester. My first major task upon arriving in London was to find a place to stay. IC’s London program generally encourages students to find their own housing, called “flats.” To many, this may sound like an intimidating feat to conquer during a student’s first week in a foreign country. Luckily, we weren’t entirely on our own. The staff at ICLC gave us a list of rentals and checked our progress throughout our flat hunt. For some, the search took less than two days, but my flatmates and I spent a week comparing prices and locations. Once I was settled into a flat, it was time for me to start my internship.
*PHOTOS BY Anika Steppe ’13
During the day, “the City”—London’s financial district—is bursting with businesspeople drinking their coffee or tea on the way to the office. Several days a week, I, too, battled the morning rush hour on the way to my internship at NBC News. I was immediately pulled into the hustle and bustle of the newsroom at my internship. I was responsible
London is a city full of intriguing characters and venues, each with its own story. for logging footage, transcribing interviews, and helping news editors and producers handle the daily deluge of information that bombarded the network’s foreign desk. Other notable experiences included helping the crew with a production shoot in Liverpool and lending a hand with a live shot for Today in front of Buckingham Palace. Naturally, some news days were slower than others. Days when the newsroom buzzed with activity were definite highlights—like watching NBC anchor Brian Williams host the Nightly News from the London bureau or helping one of the producers with a video package for MSNBC.com (now NBCNews.com). For the video package project, I transcribed interviews with an exhibit’s curators and then sat down with the producer to choose the footage and audio clips that best told the story. With that project came the unexpected—recording a voiceover for the segment. I’d done some recording in the past, but I was thrilled that the producer gave me the chance to go beyond the traditional intern responsibilities. While at NBC, I glimpsed how a major television network covers international events and breaking news, from the violence in Greece and Syria to the British tabloid phone hacking scandal. As a journalism and politics major, I couldn’t think of a better way to experience the inner workings of a network news agency and see London at the same time. I was also there to watch as London prepared for the 2012 Summer Olympics. A short train ride to the East End took me to where the city was putting the finishing touches on the Olympic stadium and village.
London is a city full of intriguing characters and venues, each with its own story. Even after four months of learning, working, and living there, I still didn’t have nearly enough time to see it all. My semester abroad threw me into situations where I traveled to new places and learned new things every day. As an aspiring journalist, I am confident that those sights, sounds, and experiences in London will give me an enriched perspective on the stories I hope to tell in the future. a
Last spring was particularly special for Ithaca College’s London Center. Not only did it bring in 122 sudents—its largest group yet—but it also turned 40! ICLC director Bill Sheasgreen led the festivities, which brought together current and former faculty members and friends of the London Center, as well as the College’s vice president Carl Sgrecci and provost Marisa Kelly, who visited the city to celebrate the big anniversary. “It’s the ICLC alums who tell us the most about the center,” says Sheasgreen. “Whether they’re from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, or this century, they generally say, ‘This was the best semester ever.’”
Learn more about studying at the Ithaca College London Center at ithaca.edu/oip.
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By Brittany Gilpin ’12
ALL in the
Details
Matt Palmaccio ’01 conquers the marketing mania behind today’s major magazines.
The bright lights of New York City called to alumnus Matt Palmaccio when he graduated from Ithaca College in 2001. He packed his bags and headed for the Big Apple for a job with Mindshare, a media-planning agency with bigname clients like American Express, Nike, and Motorola. Today Palmaccio has another list of big names on his résumé, thanks to marketing jobs at magazine giants like Esquire, Seventeen, and, most recently, Details. At Mindshare, Palmaccio, a business administration major, worked with international pharmaceutical company Merck, creating a media and advertising plan for the pharmaceutical giant. After analyzing the company’s target markets, he chose specific media outlets where he could place Merck’s advertisements. Palmaccio says the job gave him the chance to build strong relationships with people in the magazine and television industries, but he wasn’t set on a lifelong career in media planning. “It was a good first job, but it wasn’t something that I really loved,” he explains. “It wasn’t too creative. It was more just taking the budget and spreading it out over the year with where you were going to place the ads.”
focused his studies in marketing at Ithaca. His courses in public relations and advertising were complemented by his involvement in the Ithaca College chapter of the American Marketing Association. Recruiting new club members, Palmaccio says, provided its own real-world experience. “You would always want to position it as a good learning experience for other students,” he says. “You’re sort of marketing the Marketing Association itself.” Palmaccio says his classes and campus involvements encouraged teamwork, which also prepared him for his position at Details. “When I was at Ithaca, there was a lot of emphasis on group projects and team collaboration, which, at the time, seemed annoying when you’re thinking, ‘Oh, I just want to do this project by myself,’” he says. “But that’s not how the real world works. You don’t get to sit in your room all day and get your job done. You have to deal with people.” One of his biggest collaborative projects at IC involved producing an entire advertising campaign for a company that the group selected. After thinking up a brand concept and strategy, the group created all of the advertising materials. Palmaccio says the hands-on project was a fun and practical learning opportunity. “We got a lot of instruction on how the process works from the class, but it was great that we actually got to do it rather than just hear about it,” he says.
After three years at the firm—and a lunch with a former coworker who had taken a marketing job at Condé Nast— Palmaccio left Mindshare in search of a more creative career in the magazine industry.
There is no shortage of new opportunities in producing magazines, Palmaccio says, especially as they continue their shift into the digital era. The ever-changing publishing industry keeps his career fresh and exciting.
He found what he was looking for at Esquire and Seventeen. Palmaccio had marketing jobs with both magazines before accepting a position last year at Details, where he really gets his creative juices flowing.
“You hear a lot about magazines and the future of print and what’s going to happen with iPads and tablets,” he says. “It creates a dynamic job in the sense that the challenges are changing all the time.”
“It was sort of the inverse of what I was doing at Mindshare,” he says of his position at Details. “Instead of placing the ads, I am now working on marketing our magazine and trying to get ads in the magazine.”
While he plans to continue marketing magazines in the near future, his long-term goals expand beyond working in the publishing industry.
The career change came naturally to Palmaccio, who
“I like the challenge of convincing and proving the benefit of the brands.” a
“We got a lot of instruction from class, but it was great that we actually got to do it rather than just hear about it.”
Marketing in the Business School
Photo by robert glick
Marketing is just one of five concentrations business administration majors can choose in the School of Business. With a focus on creating effective marketing campaigns, the concentration blends in-class learning with hands-on opportunities. Palmaccio says the program’s emphasis on finding creative solutions to business challenges prepared him for a constantly evolving career. “It wasn’t, ‘Here’s your task,’” he says. “It was, ‘Here’s the problem. What would you do to make it an opportunity?’” In addition to becoming marketing managers like Palmaccio, graduates of the program have gone on to become account executives, sales representatives, consumer affairs specialists, and direct marketing coordinators in a variety of corporate, small business, and nonprofit settings.
To learn more about the concentrations available in IC’s business school, visit ithaca.edu/business-admin.
FALL Fall2012 2012 ITHACA ITHACACOLLEGE COLLEGEFUSE FUSE/ / 21 5
MY
Study Spots The library isn't the only place to get your brain churning. From IC Square to the chapel pond, students find spots all over campus to hit the books and get inspired. Fuse photographer Krystal Cannon '14 captured just a few of these popular study spaces on campus. To see more of Krystal's favorite study spots, visit ithaca.edu/fuse/studyspots.
The fountains make for a peaceful and beautiful place to hit the books.
Students of all majors head to the Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise, where you'll find comfy chairs, plenty of laptop space, and a coffee kiosk—all the essentials for a productive study experience.
Fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 22
The bridge by Muller Chapel is the ultimate serene spot to think.
On a clear day, you'll find students reading near the Textor ball—the central hub of campus—which is just a quick dash to most academic buildings.
Fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 23
OUTSIDE ITHACA
"Thanks to the support of Food for Thought members and the community, we raised over $20,000 for feeding centers in Ethiopia through the Walk for Plumpy’nut."
BY ELIZABETH STOLTZ '13
Filling Bellies
& Hearts
Food for Thought unites students in serving children suffering from hunger It’s strange that my inspiration to fight hunger started while flipping through CosmoGirl, an unlikely source for information on social activism. However, what I unearthed in its pages inspired me so deeply that I couldn’t let it pass. In her opening editorial note, the magazine’s editor encouraged readers to serve on a humanitarian trip to Africa. Though I ultimately couldn’t go on the trip, my desire to educate myself about this type of work deepened. After countless hours researching social action projects, I learned about Plumpy’nut, a peanut-based therapeutic food that nourishes children suffering from starvation. What my research couldn’t reveal was that Plumpy’nut would change my life. Fueled by support from family and friends in my hometown, plans for a charity walk to support Plumpy’nut took root. Walkers poured in for the first Walk for Plumpy’nut event where we raised over $5,000! A high school junior then, I realized that my involvement in these kinds of efforts couldn’t end there. The next year, Food for Thought (FFT), an organization dedicated to supporting children who lack access to quality nutrition and education, was born.
IC STUDENTS DO GOOD
When I arrived at IC, I eagerly shared FFT with my new classmates and was thrilled when several joined me in establishing a campus chapter freshman year. Thanks to the support of club members and the community, we raised over $20,000 for feeding centers in Ethiopia through the walk. We also hosted hunger workshops, supported schools around the world, and sponsored a girl’s education in India.
Fall 2012 ITHACA ITHACACOLLEGE COLLEGEFUSE FUSE//24 4 FALL
American Red Cross Club Big Brothers/Big Sisters Colleges Against Cancer Habitat for Humanity IC Environmental Society STAND: The Nation Student Anti-Genocide Coalition PHOTO BY ADAM BAKER
As graduation approaches, it’s time for me to embrace a mentorship role and entrust FFT to new student leaders. I’m moved by how much FFT shaped me. It’s influenced my future career in communications by showing me that it’s not enough to be bursting with passion about something. As a leader, you need to be able to fill others with your same level of energy to solicit their support. If you have an insatiable passion for something, keep chasing it, dig deeper, and share it with others. I never would’ve predicted the impact FFT ultimately had on me, but I’m forever grateful for it. aqwA
Food for Thought is just one of the student clubs on campus that revolves around humanitarian efforts and community service. Here are a few more:
Find a student club that suits your interests at ithaca.edu/studentorg.
ITHACA COLLEGE
AT A GLANCE Ithaca offers a first-rate education on a first-name basis. Learn what you love from stellar faculty; start a club, intern at your dream job, or spend a semester halfway around the world—whatever course you set, you’ll love what you do. At Ithaca you’ll have lots of choices and plenty of opportunities to find your passion in life.
UNDERGRADUATES
RATIO
BODY FACULTY 478 full-time faculty and 223 part-time faculty
LOCATION 47,000
RESIDENTS
In the center of the Finger Lakes region of New York State, our modern campus is about 60 miles north of Binghamton and about a bout 60 miles south of Syracuse. The city of Ithaca is home to some 47,000 residents and neighboring Cornell University.
ACADEMIC The high school average of most admitted students ranges from B+ to A.
APPLICATION
DEADLINE
STUDENT
6,200 underundergraduate and 500 graduate students from 48 states, 4 U.S. territories, and 68 countries.
FACULTY
PROFILE
6,200
STUDENT
PROGRAMS OF STUDY
Ithaca offers more than 100 degree programs to choose from. A complete list of majors can be found at ithaca.edu/admission /programs.. /programs
OUTSIDE ITHACA
AFTER ITHACA
NON-PROFIT US POSTAGE PAID ITHACA COLLEGE
953 Danby Road Ithaca, NY 14850-7002 (800) 429-4274 (607) 274-3124 ithaca.edu
READY
to fight poverty
Ithaca College taught me the value of examining the unquestioned ground I stand on, and to ask better questions of myself and the world around me. Now I work at a nonprofit that battles hunger, and I’m pursuing doctoral studies in humanitarian intervention.
– Alex Moore ’07, Politics Read more at ithaca.edu/ready
New Admission
Fall 2012
Options for Students ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 4
Test scores optional and early action now available. » See page 3 for details.
Fall 2012 ITHACA COLLEGE FUSE / 5