Elmira College
Hallmarks and Quirks
Things I'm Good At:
- New York State is slapshot country, and I'm no exception. My women's hockey team has three national titles to their name, and they're never far away from a fourth. Around here, if someone says you skate like a girl, you thank them.
- My men's volleyball team also consistently garners national attention.
- School spirit. Purple. Is. Everywhere. (Send help.)
- Nursing. The mere sight of my state-of-the-art simulation labs is enough to give you premature ventricular contractions.
- I love Mark Twain. Love him. I have all his posters. And his mixtapes. And autographs. And the actual study that he wrote Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn (and more) in.
- In 2013, I was ranked sixth in the nation for students attending graduate school within a year of graduation. Sixty-four percent of my students take on the grad school challenge.
- Internships. Having one is a graduation requirement, so you're guaranteed to have work experience before leaving school.
My Top 5 Must-Haves:
- Strong ankles. My paths are notoriously uneven, and the icy winters don't help.
- Instagram and a nice smartphone, because you'll be posting photos of my beautiful campus constantly.
- All your warm clothing. No, I don't mean you need to bring a lot of warm clothing. I mean you need to bring all your warm clothing.
- A good sense of humor. I'm a small college, so if you do something embarrassing, pretty much everyone will know. Don't be afraid to laugh it off.
- A car or a friend with a car. The best shopping and restaurants are just a five-minute drive away. If you can't find a car, join cross-country.
Why You Might Have Heard of Me:
- I was the first institution to grant degrees to women equal to those granted to men. #GirlPower
- Like I said, I'm a huge Mark Twain geek. I even offer a research fellowship for folks wanting to study him.
- I count Mark Twain's wife, Olivia Langdon Clemens, among my alumni.
- Hockey fans already know why they've heard of me.
On a regular Saturday night, you can find me...
One more thing about Mark Twain and I promise I'll stop. My partying habits follow the mantra of the great author, "Too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whiskey is never enough."
If whiskey isn't your drink of choice, however, I also host live comedians, open-mic nights, talent shows, and the famous "Mr. EC" competition. There are also plenty of student performances to go to throughout the year, such as plays, dance shows, and Acapella Weekend.
I won't lie, the immediate city of Elmira isn't exactly chock-full of fun things to do, but I'm close to plenty of interesting places.
Corning, home to the Corning Museum of Glass is twenty minutes away. Ithaca is just forty-five minutes away and is home to plenty of shopping and restaurants, plus two other colleges, Cornell and Ithaca. For the extra-ambitious, I'm also about four hours away from both NYC and Philadelphia.
Come springtime, the most popular weekend trips are up to the Finger Lakes to sightsee in places like Watkins Glen and to tour the premium wineries dotting the area. The closest of the eleven lakes, Seneca Lake, is just over half an hour away.
Favorite Hangouts:
- When springtime rolls around, outside is the place to be. Whether it's splashing around in the fountain on a hot day or lounging on the grass, the atmosphere makes it hard to go to class. Slip 'n' slides have been known to pop up on the lawn.
- Mack's (technically Mackenzie's, but I don't say that) is one of my alternative eating options. It's great for late-night snacking—plus, there's a pool table and a couple TVs to watch the big game on.
Quirks:
- Term III. I have two twelve-week semesters, plus one six-week short term at the end of the year. This is your chance to go to places like Australia, Peru, Ireland, Spain, Poland, Thailand, the Bahamas, and more. Those staying on campus only take two classes instead of the regular four, so there's plenty of time for intramural softball, which everyone looks forward to during those long winter months.
- I'm really obsessed with purple and gold. I can't help myself. I've managed to dial it back a little over the past few years, but I still have it on buildings, in classrooms, in the gardens, and yes, even in some of the soap.
- If you thought parents were embarrassing, just wait until freshman orientation. I'll have you singing songs at the top of your lungs, running relay races, and trying to find your shoe in a field full of 300 other pairs. There will also be the beanies. Never forget the beanies.
Famous Alumni:
- Olivia Langdon Clemens
- Sheila Williams, editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine and winner of two Hugo Awards
- Alice Mary Robertson, the second-ever woman in Congress
- Christine Jones, TV actress
- Ruth Carol Taylor, first African-American flight attendant