IC News

For Jaqueline Winslow, Ithaca College’s director for new student and transition programs and her staff, the challenge in putting together the college’s traditional Family Weekend in the face of a remote semester boiled down to one question.

“’What’s the purpose of family weekend?’” she asked. “In a typical year, it’s an opportunity for families and supporters to see their students and our campus, and experience some of the very cool things, their students, faculty and staff are doing on campus. We wanted to see what we could offer that was still fun and engaging.”

What was offered was an expansion of an on-campus weekend into a virtual Family Week —taking place from Nov. 6 to Nov. 13 — of approximately 80 events planned in collaboration with campus partners, including each of the college’s five schools, and a glimpse of what makes Ithaca College so unique.

One of the week’s first events was the first-generation celebration, held on Nov 6. Sponsored by the Office of New Student & Transition Programs and the college’s First Generation Organization, during the event, first-generation students were given the opportunity to share their personal experiences at Ithaca College.

The event also featured a Jeopardy-themed game, where students and family members answered trivia questions about the college and the annual festivals in the Ithaca area. They also learned fun facts about famous actors, musicians and athletes who were also first-generation college students.

Genesis Sanchez ‘22 said that attending this event was refreshing because she was able to spend quality time with her friends.

“I greatly value what the first-generation community is all about, because it brings us all together in some way,” Sanchez said. “When I first came to Ithaca College, I found my people through the First Generation Organization, and that made the transition to college life easier for me. With this virtual semester, we may be distant, but we’re working with what we have, and we know that we can lean on each other.”

The next day, President Shirley M. Collado hosted a roundtable discussion along with several faculty and staff from departments across campus, as well as Angelina Lopez ’21.

During the roundtable, Collado discussed the unique student experience at IC and took questions from families. Participants were able to discuss topics such as opportunities for students and community engagement.

“This is a community where we embrace authentically what people are and what we're about and where we come from,” she said during the event. “We chose this person that you have raised and loved and entrusted us with, because we believe that they have assets, promise and amazing things to add to this community.”