Young Alumni Return to Share Words of Wisdom

By Grace Collins ’23, February 26, 2020

Recent graduates returned to campus for the “Five Under Five” career discussion panel.

(L to R) Kylee Roberts ’19, Harmony Malone ’15, Melinda McGill-Carlison ’15, MBA ’16, Brandon Schneider ’17, Katrina Grein ’17, and Imogen Mills ’18 shared their knowledge with current IC students.

(Photo by Shevori Gene ’22)

If you were a current Ithaca College student who wanted to know how the IC experience can positively impact your life, it’d be difficult to find a better person to listen to than Imogen Mills ’18, who served as an admissions ambassador in the School of Music while she was a student, and who never shied away from sharing her affinity for the college.

“I can talk endlessly about how much I love Ithaca, and I did, every day for four years,” said Mills, who is currently a music educator in Rondout Valley School District.

Mills was one of six alumni who, having graduated less than five years ago, returned to campus on February 18 to serve on the “Five Under Five — Looking Back, Moving Forward Panel” during I Love IC Week. The panel was part of the annual Susan A. DiPace ’74 Speaker Series, which demonstrates the transformative nature of a liberal arts education.

Hosted by student organization Students Today Alumni Tomorrow (STAT), the alumni — who represented each of IC’s five schools — shared advice on making the most of your time at IC and navigating the transition from college student to professional.

Other panelists were Katrina Grein ’17, director of customer success at GiveGab; Kylee Roberts ’19, a communications and development associate for The Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York; Brandon Schneider ’17, an executive assistant; Harmony Malone ’15, who works at the Greater Ithaca Activities Center; and Melinda McGill Carlison ’15, MBA ’16, the pre-award team lead in the Research Administration Service Center in the College of Engineering at Cornell University.

After the panel discussion, Imogen Mills ’18 spoke with some attendees.

(Photo by Shevori Gene ’22)

The discussion started with the alumni sharing stories from their time at IC. Roberts, a communication management and design major, spoke fondly about her role as a co-founder of Passion Project, an alternative fashion publication.

“I was able to balance my social life and extracurriculars by merging them,” she said. “I started the club and had all my friends join it, and found roles for them doing things they were interested in.”

Another topic of discussion was the transition from college to post-grad life and full-time employment. While Grein feels that the phase definitely comes with challenges, the theatre arts management major also said that IC had prepared her for success.

“My major was super practicum-driven, so transitioning to a job was very much like ‘oh, I’ve done this before, I can do this,’” she told the audience.

“I really enjoyed hearing how their experiences at IC differed, but when they graduated, they came across similar career problems, and were able to navigate it based on the skills that Ithaca taught them.”

Ryan Buchanan ’20

McGill-Carlison, who was a business administration major at IC, spoke on the importance of connections. “Every job I’ve had since IC, I’ve been recruited, so use your network and treat everyone the way you’d want to be treated and they might be hiring you a few months down the road,” she said.

Students attending the panel found it to be informative, not only in terms of what was shared, but how the college prepares its students for their post-college careers.

“I really enjoyed hearing how their experiences at IC differed, but when they graduated, they came across similar career problems, and were able to navigate it based on the skills that Ithaca taught them,” said Ryan Buchanan ’20, a business administration major.