IC News

If you’d walked by Emerson Suites at 11 a.m. on April 23, you might have thought a pool party was taking place. Close to 50 people were in Suite C, which was filled with the sounds of children laughing and splashing. The only thing missing was an inflatable beach ball bouncing around the crowd.

The scene wasn’t a party though, it was Ithaca College’s 28th annual Whalen Symposium. And the source of the noise was a screening of a short documentary film produced by Jacob Willinger ’25, called “Beyond the Pool: Inclusion, Education and Community.”

Willinger’s research was on the importance of teaching water safety to children with disabilities and highlighted the work done by students in a disability awareness course taught by Joanie Groome, a lecturer in the department of Health Sciences and Public Health in the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance who also leads adaptive and inclusive swimming programs at the local YMCA.

The course paired students with children who attend Racker, a local organization that supports people with disabilities. The children took the bus to IC’s Athletics and Events Center, where they worked in the pool with students to learn water safety.

“This was the first time the course had been held since the pandemic,” said Willinger, who is a Sport Media major. “I wanted to show why this class is important for the community and the great work the students do with the children. But as I was doing the research on the importance of teaching water safety to children with disabilities, I realized I needed to show rather than tell.”

Donning a GoPro, Willinger got in the pool and filmed students working with children over the course of several days. He then conducted interviews with Groome and the students.

For Willinger, this work proved a welcome break from what he was used to.

“I’ve shot other sport-focused documentaries, but those were mostly centered around game highlights,” he said. “This was much more of an emotional narrative, so it was a challenge.

“But that’s why the opportunity to present here [at Whalen] was so great,” he continued. “It forced me to go beyond box scores.”

Willinger didn’t take that academic leap alone, however. He worked closely with Mead Loop ’84, professor and program director of the Sports Media program. In Loop’s Senior Workshop in Sports Media course, the pair worked together to craft the narrative storyline of the piece. That in-depth, one-on-one mentorship is a hallmark of the work presented at Whalen.

“I greatly enjoyed working with Jacob,” Loop said. “The Whalen Symposium puts into presentation the best research of undergraduates, and his documentary models that.”

Fueled by Loop’s journalistic guidance, Willinger edited his footage with the help of Documentary Studies major Jack Punda ’25, ultimately producing a nine-minute film.

“The effort I put into this was beyond anything I’ve ever done,” he admitted. “But it was also work that took me in a direction I want my professional career to go. I’m grateful I had this opportunity, because it’s not something you get at most schools.

Willinger’s work was just some of standout research showcased at Whalen on a day that saw poster and oral presentations from hundreds of students.

Undarmaa Tserenkhuu ’25 presented “Gender in Pose: A Cross-Cultural Exploration of Body Language and Identity,” a photography project exploring how gender identities are expressed and perceived across different cultures.

Tserenkhuu, a Cinema and Photography major, worked with professor of Media Arts, Sciences and Studies Steven Skopik and took photos of 12 models from 10 different countries to highlight the diversity of gender expression.

“Often, people assume gender functions the same everywhere — or that it's always drastically different — without recognizing the nuances,” Tserenkhuu said. “I wanted to show how gender, as a socially constructed idea of sex, shifts across cultures and isn't a one-size-fits-all concept. The Whalen Symposium is a great space for sharing projects that provoke thought and bring diverse perspectives to the forefront.”

Sociology major Eleanor Patterson ’26 presented two research projects at the symposium. The first, titled “The Rise of Cocaine in Colombia,” researched the factors contributing to the rise of drug cultivation and trade within the country.

“I feel that research tends to shy away from illegal activities,” said Patterson, who conducted this project as part of a Latin American History course taught by professor of History Jonathan Ablard, who subsequently encouraged her to submit her work to Whalen. “I would love the opportunity to present my research at an academic symposium, and this provided exposure and practice for presenting at bigger conferences.”

Patterson also worked with professor of Sociology Stephen Sweet on a project titled “Gendered Violence in Horror Movies.”

“I like to examine how media and society influence each other,” she said. “I conducted primary research into the roles of gender and violence in twelve different horror films and analyzed my data through [the statistical software package] SPSS with the help of Professor Sweet.”

Sweet also worked with Ethan Shusterman ’25, a Sociology and Psychology double major, on one of his two projects, titled “Are Video Games for Everyone? A Literature Review of Gender and Gaming,” which explored how gender influences individuals’ gaming experiences.

Shusterman is a Whalen Symposium veteran, having presented in previous years. And he believes the experience has paid off for him throughout his time at IC.

“The opportunity to share your hard work and practice presenting in a professional setting is invaluable,” he said. “I have presented at other conferences as part of the Psychology department, and having the practice at Whalen made those experiences so much easier.”

In addition to in-depth research, faculty collaboration, and professional preparation, the Whalen Symposium encourages interdisciplinary exploration. That was the case for Victoria Schecter ’26, a Music Education major with a Mathematics minor whose project “Harmonizing Minds: The Interplay of Music and Language in Early Childhood Development,” allowed her to combine her passions.

“I have always found music to be an interdisciplinary subject, especially thanks to my minor, and I wanted to learn more about how music impacted children positively, and how it could strengthen other areas of development in education,” Schecter said. “My research explores the connection between music and language development in early childhood education, emphasizing how musical engagement fosters cognitive, social, and linguistic growth and argues for the inclusion of music education in school curriculums.”

Schecter had her eyes set on Whalen a year ago, and in the lead-up to this year’s symposium, worked with associate professor of Music Theory, History, and Composition Sara Haefeli to refine her research.

“Dr. Haefeli has been so supportive of all my work, and I have been lucky to have her as my mentor throughout this process,” Schecter said.