In late June, nearly 100 alumni who spent a semester—or semesters—abroad at the Ithaca College London Center (ICLC) gathered at a reception at the Bentley Hotel in London’s Kensington district. The event was part of a weekend of celebrations, which also included walking tours, classes, a boat cruise, and pub nights, as alumni toasted the London Center, reconnected with friends and former classmates, and shared memories spanning the more than half a century.
Celebration across the Pond
By Jenny Barnett, October 18, 2024
Event highlights 50 years of London memories for IC alumni.
Top row, left to right: London Center director Meghan Callahan (center), chatted with alumni prior to a cruise on the Thames. Rachel Gould, senior director of study abroad at IC, and Wendy Cohen Kohlenberg ’83 attended the center’s welcome reception. Bottom row, left to right: Nancy Touchette ’77 and friends enjoyed the cruise. Hope Brandis Horowitz ’77, Nancy Touchette, Linda Wagner Suszko ’78, Amy Stoll ’77, and Risa Breckman ’78 took in the welcome event. Tammy Mayberry ’97 and Rebecca King ’91 savored fine fare at the Bentley Hotel.
Top row, left to right: London Center director Meghan Callahan (center), chatted with alumni prior to a cruise on the Thames. Rachel Gould, senior director of study abroad at IC, and Wendy Cohen Kohlenberg ’83 attended the center’s welcome reception. Bottom row, left to right: Nancy Touchette ’77 and friends enjoyed the cruise. Hope Brandis Horowitz ’77, Nancy Touchette, Linda Wagner Suszko ’78, Amy Stoll ’77, and Risa Breckman ’78 took in the welcome event. Tammy Mayberry ’97 and Rebecca King ’91 savored fine fare at the Bentley Hotel.
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Go to ithaca.edu/london-50-news for more photos of the celebration
Among the longest-standing U.S.-based study abroad programs in London, ICLC has welcomed thousands of students during the past five decades—each of which was enthusiastically represented in the room. “The creation of our London Center is a core memory and an ongoing source of tremendous pride,” said Ithaca College’s president, La Jerne Terry Cornish. “We have traced, this week, our journey from striving in London to thriving in London, but our journey is just getting started.”
The weekend gave alumni ample opportunity to reflect upon their time abroad. “I chose IC so I could study at the London Center,” said Rebecca King ’91, who got the chance to spend time in the Houses of Parliament, and, among other things, watch the filming of an ad featuring then prime minister Tony Blair.
Chemistry major Nancy Touchette ’77 called the experience of studying in London transformational. “It really is worth it,” she said. “It allowed me to expand and to trust myself—that I could go to another country and figure it out. You’ll be a different person when you come out the other side of it.”