But I Didn’t Get To Go There.
Ithaca College was Shane’s number one choice of colleges for a long time, especially during the pandemic. Ithaca had a great film program, a screenwriting program, and alumni who work on TV shows ranging from Cheers to WandaVision. Their Zoom events were some of the most impressive I had ever seen, and I even attended one without Shane (with the school’s permission) because the theme was Super Bowl commercials – one of my very favorite things!
With Ithaca being so close to home, I happily envisioned Shane only four hours from home and still working on the next WandaVision (although there will never be another show like WandaVision). But after Shane’s visit in Fall of his senior year, his interest started to wane.
As we were leaving Ithaca’s Open House, my excitement level was off the charts. We had just toured film studios, recording booths, radio studios, and at least one session that discussed Park School majors including Integrated Marketing Communications. As a Communications major with long-ago dreams of working in television, I could hardly contain myself.
“So, what do you think of Ithaca?” I asked Shane breathlessly – partly because we’d just climbed a big hill to the parking lot.
“It reminded me why I don’t want to major in film,” Shane said without a hint of enthusiasm. His initial interest in film had been waning since 8th grade, but I was still surprised. Ithaca College had everything I loved. But I didn’t get to go there.
Shane’s acceptance from Ithaca came with a huge scholarship – but not quite as big as some other offers. Fortunately, Shane was accepted into the highly selective Leadership Scholars program and would get an additional $7,000 per year for his participation. In addition, he would find ready-made friends in the program and get paid for joining clubs on campus that he would have joined anyway.
Shane considered this program “work” and wasn’t thrilled – so Ithaca dropped a bit further on his list.
Over the winter, Shane did a little more research and found some disturbing comments online. Ithaca’s own students were expressing their disappointment in, and frustration with, the college. None of us – least of all me – understood their dissatisfaction. But … several programs had recently been cut by the administration. Their president left after only four years. And a new president – one who may have been at least partially responsible for the cuts – had begun a new reign. Morale was pretty low.
The final nail in the coffin for Shane happened right after Admitted Students Day. Since he makes Tik Tok videos as a hobby, Shane created a video with a current Ithaca student. It was a funny video and it got thousands of views. The viewers left comments – but the comments weren’t all positive. Ithaca students recognized the campus and said things like, “Is that Ithaca? I am so glad I’m out of there!” and “Park School sucks!”
We still don’t know why a perfectly good school has made enemies of so many students. And I still think Shane would have been a great Leadership Scholar; plus it would have been super nice to have him so close to home. But even though I loved Ithaca, it was definitely not the place for Shane.