Walking onto the Ithaca College campus for my official visit, I was greeted by Coach Erin Dinan, head coach of the cross country boys and girls teams.
Coach Erin welcomed my family and I warmly, introduced me to an athlete on the team, Jacob Infald, who would be my guide for the day.
Because Ithaca values academics as much as sports, our first stop was a journalism class, a course on media literacy. The class lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes, and there was a guest speaker that day, giving us the chance to ask questions and get a taste of the academic side of college life.
After class, I headed to the dining hall to meet the rest of the cross country team for lunch. One perk of an official visit was the free meals— we simply handed our tickets to the dining hall staff and went to choose our meals.
Next came a campus tour. We visited the rec center, the admissions office, and all the athletic fields. Since our visit was focused on track and cross-country, we also explored the indoor track, the running trails, and even the actual Ithaca cross-country course. Seeing the facilities in person made the idea of training here feel real—and exciting.
Later, Coach Erin and Head Track Coach Stargell Williams sat down with me for a one-on-one discussion about my goals, why I want to come to Ithaca, and what I hope to achieve in my senior year. They shared their vision for the program and what they expect from their student-athletes.
“My hope is that we come across as a very accepting, warm, family-feel culture,” Dinan said. “People who are driven to compete and strive to be our best.”
Coach Williams had a similar vision.
“I want them to be academically and athletically driven,” Williams said. “To compete at a high level and to just have good people on the team that love and support each other.”
After the meeting, we watched the team practice. NCAA rules prevent recruits from participating, but observing their strength and conditioning session gave us a full look at the team’s routine and the effort it takes to compete at this level.
The day ended with dinner alongside the athletes, followed by a casual outing for ice cream at a local spot in Ithaca. Chatting and laughing with Jacob and the team in a relaxed setting gave me a glimpse of the social side of college life.
“Enjoy the recruiting process because it only happens once,” Infald said. “You’ll know when it’s the right place for you.”
