10/22/2024
SUNY Cortland’s estimated 550 to 600 transfer students might feel a bit lonely and left out when first arriving on campus, especially when leaping the campus chasm midway through the academic year.
But they’re in good company.
That’s because, during SUNY Cortland’s Transfer and Non-Traditional Student Week from Oct. 21 to 25, when many activities are offered to engage the campus community, quite a few employees are willing to share that nerve-wracking experience of changing their mind about where they plan to finish their baccalaureate degree. All of them found their passion at the second college they tried and have wisdom to share.
- Patrick Donnelly ’01, Ed.D., ATC, former head athletic trainer for SUNY Cortland’s football team when it captured its first-ever Division III national championship title last fall, was once a worried new student at a tiny private college in Vermont, where he immediately found both his chosen major and the campus itself to be a bad fit.
- Kharmen Wingard, an assistant director of SUNY Cortland’s Educational Opportunity Program, was two years into life as a rising star varsity basketball player at a small private university in Erie, Pennsylvania, when his mother’s terminal illness made him decide to move closer to home.
- Kristen Dushko, an assistant registrar at SUNY Cortland for just over one year, enjoyed her year at the Rutgers University — New Brunswick campus in New Jersey, until its rising price led her to switch horses mid-rodeo to suit her academic, extracurricular and bottom-line affordability needs.
Donnelly was a second semester first-year student transferring to SUNY Cortland.
“I look back on it, and I was scared and nervous, starting here in January, placed in a dorm with a roommate whom I knew nothing about, and feeling that I’m late to the game.
“I just opened myself up to the experiences and I ended up, I would argue, having a great first semester. I found great mentors,” said Donnelly, a Plattsburgh, N.Y., native who is currently the coordinator of clinical education and an instructor for the Master of Science program in athletic training within the Kinesiology Department.
At Cortland, Donnelly also met his future wife, Trisha Pike Donnelly ’02, another Cortland athletic trainer.
“The thing I would say to folks is if it doesn’t feel right, trust your instincts,” said Donnelly, who recently earned his doctorate in educational theory research and practice from Binghamton University. “You can’t be afraid to make that leap.”
Wingard, upon transferring after his second year from Gannon University in Erie, Pa., experienced a very supportive academic environment at Daemen University in Amherst, N.Y., a Buffalo suburb.
“In the moment, I didn’t see it, but it really was the best decision for me,” Wingard said.
Daemen University was a bit smaller but had a good program in his chosen major of social work and a berth on the basketball team.
“I really didn’t know how I was going to fit in at Daemon even though it was my hometown, but I really ended up being very successful, athletically and in academics,” Wingard said.
“I was kind of pushed to be involved as much as I was by some advisors and mentors, becoming an orientation leader and taking an R.A. position,” he said. “I think a lot of those things helped me have a well-rounded college experience. I think students should look at it as a 50-50 split. Academics are important, but also what you do outside of the classroom.”
While graduating on time in 2005, he reached All-League and All-American honors, and scored in the all-time top 10 for Daemon athletes in the game, placing him in the institution’s sports hall of fame.
“If I had gone to a bigger school, I don’t know if I’d be as successful, knowing the nature of student that I was and all I had going on,” he said. “It might have been overwhelming. At Daemon, I got a lot more hands-on attention, even with scheduling and transferring my credits and understanding the process to graduate. I was working one-on-one with my professors and advisors on that.”
Wingard’s decision gave him time to be closer to his mother before she passed away.
Today, in addition to reaching his 20-year mark as a SUNY Cortland employee, Wingard is a father, officiates in basketball and is finishing a Doctorate in Education at Binghamton University.
“For the transfer student coming to Cortland, my advice would be to be all-in and really buy into everything that’s offered here, whether that’s an academic resource, a social program or just getting out and meeting friends,” he said.
Dushko of Endicott, N.Y., arrived at Rutgers University with its 40,000 students in Fall 2012, attracted to its marching band and an immersive French language program.
“With 40,000 students, I didn’t just have one advisor,” said Dushko, then an undeclared major who was leaning toward French. “They had an advising department, but I felt like a number.”
The deciding factor, however, was dwindling finances in the face of rising expenses.
“It didn’t make the best sense to go for a second year,” Dushko said.
“My first semester at Rutgers, I had gotten involved in a national, co-educational, honorary music service fraternity, a very small Greek organization that had a chapter at SUNY Oswego,” she said. “I knew Oswego was a lot more affordable than private schools and I was able to start with a group of people who I already knew.
“I wouldn’t be where I am now if I hadn’t transferred,” Dushko said. “I think it was a big leap for me but there were more resources available to me, resources like those at SUNY Cortland, to help me succeed. It was such a wonderful, enriching eye-opening, educational experience.”
She declared a major in communications with minors in French and sociology, and studied abroad for three weeks in Tours, France, graduating within four years in 2016.
Dushko has since earned an online master’s degree in higher education administration through SUNY Stony Brook, and recently started an online doctorate in higher education leadership and change at SUNY Empire State College.
Image at top of page: Patrick Donnelly ’01, who was athletic trainer for SUNY Cortland’s national champion varsity football team last fall, is shown standing on the right with his team, Molly Potvin, staff athletic trainer, holding the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl trophy now displayed at Park Center; and student athletic trainers, since graduated, Katherine Burgess ’22, M ’24, standing left; and Brielle Bagozzi M ’24, kneeling on the right.