Earlier this semester, six graduating students received personal letters written by their professors. When they arrived in the studio, the students did not know about the letters or what to expect.
The care and investment devoted in these relationships by faculty and students alike is evident. These five stories are not unique, but representative of the mentorship that plays out across the entire campus every year. This is the IC way, and we’re proud of it.
Get your tissues ready...
Dear Grad,
By Kim Wunner, May 13, 2025
Graduating IC students read letters from their professors (get your tissues out).
Bella's Letter from Professor Colleen Countryman | Humanities & Sciences | Ithaca College
Amanda's Letter from Professor Mike Costello | Health Sciences & Human Performance | Ithaca College
Cole's Letter from Professor Brad Treat | School of Business | Ithaca College
Jared's Letter from Professor Cynthia Henderson | Music, Theatre, and Dance | Ithaca College
Caleb's Letter from Professor Andy Watts | Roy H. Park School of Communications | Ithaca College
A Letter in Writing
Emma Garver '25 was not able to attend the video recording and so we share her letter here. This letter was written to Emma from her Field Hockey Coach, Kaitlyn Wahila, MS '07.
"I read it (the letter) a million times ... It was really special. It made me feel very grateful and overwhelmed. Coach Wah and Coach Mo were literally like my second moms — they've taken care of me. They were by my side the entire time and are basically the reasons that I kept pursuing athletics and had such a successful career and grew so much as a person. And I pretty much owe all of that to them."
Emma Garver, '25
Dear Emma – To THE #10, our hype woman and our leader,
In this moment, I want to express just how incredibly proud I am of you.
Life is a wild journey. It brings the toughest of moments and the most rewarding ones. It teaches us incredible lessons, can be unfair, and yet somehow remains extraordinary all at once. Your journey at Ithaca has been all of these things — tough, rewarding, unfair, incredible — and through it all, you’ve grown as a student, player, leader, motivator, teammate, daughter, sister, friend, and person.
You’ve completed this journey — and we couldn’t be prouder to have been by your side, watching you fail forward, encouraging you to never give up, and celebrating the historic moments you helped create.
Going forward, always remember how proud we are of you.
I remember sitting with you in the office during the winter of your first year, pointing to a picture of you toppling over Team 54, celebrating our first-ever Liberty League semifinal win. I told you I wanted more moments like that with you. In that moment, sitting on the office couch — when you could have given up and I could have given up — neither of us did.
I believed in you. I believed in the progression of your journey. I believed in your work ethic, your leadership, and your drive to want more for this program. You thrived in your classes, recovered from your knee surgery, and showed up for this program with a competitive and selfless approach — one day at a time.
Going forward, always remember to be there and show up for the people around you.
In the spring of your sophomore year, we asked you to shift from a goal-scoring position to a gritty, defensive midfield role. When we told you why we needed you as our new RDM, you accepted without hesitation, simply saying, “Whatever the team needs.”
That was the beginning of something special — the start of your growth as a leader, motivator, and queen of hype. You became exactly what the team needed.
Going forward, remember that you have the ability to become exactly what the ‘team’ needs.
And now, I’ve saved the best for last. You might think I’m crazy for this one, but one of the things I’ll miss most about you is your ‘back patting.’ I can already hear the team giggling as I talk about the importance of the ‘back pat.’
It’s November 8th, 2023 — we’ve just earned our second corner in overtime against Endicott. You come over, get the call from us on the sideline, and head back to the top of the circle — just like you had all season long. Then, you put your arm around Goody, knowing she’d release the shot on cage that would be deflected — earning us our first NCAA win since 1997.
Fast forward to November 10th, 2024 — you give Valli a back pat before she scores what ends up being the game-winning goal for our first-ever Liberty League Championship .
Going forward, remember that you have the power to instill confidence in anyone you meet.
Emma, both Coach Mo and I are beyond proud of the leader you became for our program. Thank you for leading authentically and motivating those around you. Ithaca Field Hockey is lucky to have you as part of its legacy.
We will miss you, Emma. Thank you for choosing us four short years ago — and maybe now we can have one more pregame handshake.
With love and gratitude,
Coach Wah