We are writing to share the bittersweet news that New Student & Transition Programs will have two staff members leaving our team during Spring semester: Lia Muñoz on January 4th and Jenelle Whalon in May.
Lia Muñoz is the Assistant Director for New Student & Transition programs. Her role focuses on the support of first-generation college students and sophomore programming. Lia also was highly involved with the MLK scholars program and IC's Strategic Plan. As an alum of IC, Lia rejoined us on campus after pursuing her Masters degree as the first permanent hire for the AD position. Lia helped to grow the FIRST Look pre-semester program, FIRST Place Residential Learning Community, has maintained our designation as a First-Gen Forward institution nationally, brought text-message nudging to our campus for first-generation collect students, and so much more. If you've ever seen her outlook calendar, you'd know she spends at least half her day in conversations with our students - supporting their transition to and through college. Lia will be missed dearly but we are excited that she is continuing her career in support of students. Lia's next position is as a College Counselor with Uncommon Schools at Rochester Prep in Rochester, NY. In this role, Lia will be responsible for the matriculation of every student into a four-year college - ensuring proper college matches and support systems.
Jenelle Whalon is the Administrative Assistant for New Student and Transition Programs. Within her role, Jenelle provides exceptional support for every feature of our office including orientation, family weekend, veterans' initiatives, first-gen student support, and so much more. Jenelle was the first to hold her position and built new office protocols, authored new policies, developed a budgeting system, and created many office organizational structures to allow our office to run smoothly and efficiently. These initiatives required leadership, extensive collaboration, and attention to detail. Her organization of complex processes, commitment to students, willingness to adapt and collaborate, and genuine care has earned trust and respect within our office and across campus. In short: Jenelle will leave big shoes to fill. We are excited, though, for her to pursue her dream career as a tax and audit accountant with Insero & Co. locally in Ithaca.
We wish both Lia and Jenelle the best of luck as they move forward in their careers. Thank you for your service to our students and IC. Your legacy and contribution to IC will surely live on.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20201223145911834