The Ties that Bind

By IC News staff, October 7, 2022

IC hosts Family Weekend

Families posing for pictures in front of the fountains, outside, and inside

Whether they were inside or out, there was plenty for families to enjoy during Family Weekend.

(Photos by Sheryl Sinkow)

Story by: Sena Namkung ’25, Eva Salzman ’23, Andrew Garoppo ’24, and Laura Ilioaei ’23

Ithaca College welcomed families of current students to South Hill for Family Weekend, which ran from September 30 to October 2 and featured dozens of events to highlight everything the college has to offer.

The start of the weekend was marked by a welcome reception held in the lobby of the Peggy Ryan Williams Center on September 30 that allowed parents and students to get to know members of the Ithaca College staff, like Caryanne Keenan, newly-appointed director of New Student and Transition Programs.

“We’re just so excited to have this energy, to have everyone mingle and get to know more about what we do here at IC. It feels like a new start,”

Caryanne Keenan, Director of New Student and Transition Programs

“We’re just so excited to have this energy, to have everyone mingle and get to know more about what we do here at IC. It feels like a new start,” Keenan said. “It’s an exciting time. We have a lot of new leadership, new president, new energy.”

Attendees helped themselves to refreshments, with many family members of students displaying an “IC Family” pin on their clothing. The reception also featured booths where students and parents could learn about on-campus resources such as the Office of Career Services, the IC Family Council, and the Office of Student Engagement.

For many families, the opportunity to spend time together on campus was special.

“This is my first time seeing my mom in about a month and a half. This is the longest time I’ve been apart from her,” said Haley Melniker ’26.

“It feels like its’s been forever. I nearly raced up here,” said Melniker’s mother, Eileen, who traveled from New York City to see her daughter.

In addition to spending time together, the opportunity to experience Ithaca and the various events held throughout the weekend was something everyone was excited about.

“We’ve been looking forward to this since the moment we dropped him off,” said Laura House, parent of Elliot House ’25.

Feeling Artsy

The Handwerker Gallery was open all weekend for IC students and their family members to visit. On one side of the gallery, attendees looked at Katarina Riesing’s Well Worn exhibit while on the other side, Tony Barnes’ Batik Futuriste was on display.

The exhibits were appealing to Kathy and John Kraeck, parents of Thomas Kraeck ’24, who enjoyed getting to see the gallery's featured exhibits.

“It’s exciting to see and this seems like a great space,” they said. “We really liked these exhibits. They’re very creative and very colorful, it’s a fun thing to come and see.”

Becky and Phillip Milburn, parents of Ray Milburn ‘26, reflected on how great it was to see what their son is involved in on campus. They were also appreciative that Ithaca College has spaces where students can experience and enjoy art.

“This is such an impressive gallery and these are remarkable exhibits, even we want to learn more about these artists’ techniques,” they said.

Families had a chance to check out two new exhibits in the Handwerker Gallery.

(Photo by Eva Salzman '23)

Olivia Stemp ’26 echoed this sentiment.

“Bringing my family here was a great experience,” Stemp said. “It was fun to bring them around and show them everything I do and everywhere I hang out on campus. My aunt is an IC alumna, and both of my parents visited her on campus in the past. It was cool to hear them talk about what’s changed on campus.”

Stephanie Cascante, mother of April Cascante ’26, said it was nice to see that Ithaca is an environment her daughter can thrive in.

“She seems comfortable, and everyone is very welcoming,” Cascante said. “She has everything close by that she needs to succeed, and there are a lot of interesting places on campus, which is good to see.”

Vicki Winnick, mother of Sophia Winnick ‘26, stopped by the gallery and remarked on how having an art gallery on campus is an asset to students’ education and development.

“It appears that there's lots of opportunities for students in a variety of ways,” Winnick said. “I feel like being able to see different talents by different people will really help to make students well-rounded individuals.”

A Chance to Give Back

As part of its Ithaca Forever strategic plan, the college strives to be a private college serving the public good, and that mentality was on display during Family Weekend, when families had the opportunity to donate items to the college’s food pantry.

“We thought that this weekend was the best time to do this because it gets the whole IC community involved,” said Abbey Hall ’25. “Parents often go grocery shopping with their students during this weekend, so we thought they’d be willing to get a few things for the pantry as well.”

A total of 377 food pantry items were collected during Family Weekend.

While Hall said the initial hopes were to receive 200 items and possibly a few monetary donations, however, the IC community blew that total away by donating 377 items, including canned goods, snacks, toiletries, microwavable meals, and health care products. In addition, families and students also gave over $300 that will go to buy health and beauty products, easy-to-make meals, and kitchen staples like peanut butter, eggs, cooking oil, and rice.

“The people who brought me the most joy were the people on tours who were surprised we had a pantry and had a smile on their face after finding out we had this and that it is available to anyone,” Hall said. “And it feels really good to make people happy and give people something they need.

Academic Insights Abound

Families also had the chance to learn about academic offerings throughout the weekend. Each school held an open house where families could tour facilities and meet with professors and staff.

Included among these programs was a study abroad information session. Led by Rachel Gould, the senior director of Study Abroad, in the Office of International Programs and Extended Studies. The session included testimonials by upperclassmen and IC Study Abroad ambassadors who completed different programs in the past.

One ambassador was Melina Cicigline ’23 a Theatre Arts Management major who studied abroad at IC’s London Center in Spring 2022.

“If you’re going to the London Center, everyone’s there to support you. You’re going with a cohort of students who’re already from Ithaca. It just transfers your love there,” Cicigline said.

“Just to touch on the ‘oh my god, study abroad was the best experience of my life,’” said Parker Schug ’23, a journalism major who studied in Barcelona during 2022. “I remember on each of those trips, really having a moment where I was looking over the city, and it brought tears to my eyes.”