Ithaca College

Erica Weiss, a registered nurse in the Hammond Health Center, and Ben Hogben, manager of library access services, are the recipients of the 2003-4 JJ Staff Scholar Awards at Ithaca College.

Established in 1997 to honor the late president emeritus James J. Whalen, the annual awards give $200 to eligible staff members enrolled in a bachelor's degree program at the College. The money can be used to pay for books and defray educational costs.

"This award validates the fact that the College recognizes the importance of people continuing their education," Weiss says. "I'm amazed that there's this kind of support on top of the tuition remission benefit for staff members. It's a pat on the back, and it makes you want to keep going."

Weiss

Weiss became a registered nurse by completing a two-year program at Tompkins Cortland Community College. She worked at a clinic for eight years and in a hospital for four before coming to the College, where she works the 3:00 to 11:00 p.m. shift in the health center. She has been at Ithaca since 2001.

"When I started working here, I had been going to night school at TC3," Weiss says. "My plan was to earn a bachelor's in nursing. I was doing it mostly for self-fulfillment, and I wanted to earn as many credits as I could locally before I would have to transfer to a four-year college. Now that I'm working at the College, being able to take courses here is really panning out because I can work evenings and have days free to take classes and study. It's not always easy, but the environment here is stimulating, and being an adult undergraduate has been a very nice challenge."

One of those challenges involves knowing when to speak out in class and when to let the younger students participate. Being a health education major with nearly a decade and a half of clinical nursing experience makes the challenge especially interesting.

"When a professor is trying to start a conversation with the students, I don't want to just jump in and monopolize things, but I don't want to stay too quiet either. It's a delicate balance, but I like it. It's stimulating to get wrapped up in the way young people look at things."

In addition to occupying a fair amount of Weiss's time, education plays an important role in the lives of the rest of her family. Her husband, Gary, a 1999 Ithaca College graduate, teaches at the Alternative Community School, and her daughters, Laurel and Hanna, are full-time students at TC3 and the SUNY Cortland, respectively.

"They both saw me doing the night school thing and decided, no way were they going to do that," Weiss says.

She plans to finish her degree within the next few years. She feels the education aspect of her major will help her relate better to her patients and expand her understanding of her profession.

"I didn't go to college after high school," she says. "That's why it's happening now."

Hogben

Ben Hogben, a 12-year employee, echoes that sentiment.

"I didn't have the opportunity to go to college right out of high school," he says. "You bring a different perspective to things as an adult. You're studying because you want to, not because you think it's something you're supposed to do."

Hogben spent his first two years at the College working in computer operations in Job Hall. Ten years ago he switched to the library, where he oversees the circulation, reserves, and interlibrary loan operations. His major is gerontology.

"I had earned an associate's degree in human services from TC3 and a certificate in gerontology from the College," he says. "My studies involved me in an internship at Longview, and that turned out to be a very positive experience. It gave me some deep insights into the concerns of aging people and the challenges they face."

Though working full-time and taking classes is not a walk in the park, Hogben has found a way to handle it. One of the reasons is his family situation.

"We have one child at home, Sarah, who's a middle school student," he says. "And my wife, Susan, is studying business at TC3. When evening comes around, it's homework time for all of us, and we just get down to it."

Like Weiss, Hogben can appreciate the distinctive experience of being an adult undergraduate.

"I like to tell this story because it's happened more than once," Hogben says. "I'll show up the first day of class, and one of the younger students sees me walk in the room, thinks I'm the professor, and asks me if I'll sign an add/drop form."

Hogben expects to graduate either by the end of 2004 or the spring of 2005. He plans to go on to earn a master's degree, either in library science or social work.

"Receiving a JJ scholarship award means a lot to me," he says. "It's nice that the institution recognizes the efforts of staff members who want to further their education."

Candidates for a JJ Staff Scholar Award must be full-time staff members of the College working at grades 2 to 16. They must also be matriculating seniors who have completed at least 90 hours toward graduation and are maintaining a grade point average of 3.2 or higher.

The JJ Staff Scholar Award Committee is chaired by Colleen Fields. The members are Carol Bradley, Marcia Burgess, Arlene Dende, Rosalie Fitzgerald, and Deb Merriman.

Previous recipients are Denise Benjamin, Kathy Besemer, Christine Davie, Deborah Emnett, Angela "Angie" Rogers, Lola Schissel, Jacalyn Spoon, Peggy Termina, William Weeks, and Donna Wray.

Contributed by Keith Davis