For some parents, packing up the kids to go to college means loading up the mini-van and driving a mile up College Hill Road. Instead of unpacking and moving into a residence hall in unfamiliar surroundings, arriving on campus with a new student brings back memories of years spent rooting on the Continentals, attending concerts in Wellin Hall or hearing Great Names speakers in the Field House.
Like many colleges and universities, Hamilton offers a tuition benefit that enables employees' dependents to attend at a reduced cost (scholarship). This year, 17 employees' dependents are enrolled. In the last seven years the dependent enrollment ranged from 13 to 24. For those employees, the experience of sending a child off to college isn't quite as traumatic as putting Junior on a plane to travel to a school across the country.
Hamilton employees whose children attend college on the Hill feel they have the best of both worlds. They know their children are getting an extraordinary education, and they try to balance the students' need for independence with a parent's concern for a good experience. In the words of Grounds Foreperson Don Croft, whose son, Sean, is a sophomore, "You've got to pretend they're 100 miles away; you have to let them explore college life."
 The Collett Family |
The Colletts try to encourage their son's independence, but Katherine added since Tim is here, "I find myself reminding him of things, or e-mailing 'did you notice the announcement about...'" Brian said Tim has shown some self-sufficiency by working for ITS. "That's clearly his own — he's found himself a niche that's unrelated to us," he said.
 The Turveys |
Like other Hamilton employee-parents, Janet appreciates the value of the tuition benefit. "Because we work at Hamilton, we know what a wonderful opportunity they'll have being here; it's a great academic program," Janet said. She and her husband advise employee-parents to "give them the same freedom as if they've gone away." Turvey jokes that she sees her son — who is a student at SUNY Oneonta — more than she sees Carrie. "I saw her once last semester at the crosswalk," she laughed.
Diann Lynch, Health Center nurse, is the mother of two current students, Patrick, a senior, and Ryan, a junior. Hamilton was Pat's first choice; Ryan went to St. Anselm's for a semester but didn't like it and then enrolled here as a January admit, Diann said. "Last year they lived together in a quad in Carnegie. They hadn't shared a room since they were 10 and 8, but they loved it!"
For Diann one of the advantages of her sons attending Hamilton is that "we get to know their friends. Plus, academically it's a super college, and I know they're getting an extraordinary education." By the same token they try to not interfere in their sons' day-to-day campus life. "It's important to my husband and I that they feel like they're away for college," she said.
One advantage of being an on-campus parent, Diann said, is being able to witness firsthand the overall quality of Hamilton. "I'm lucky being in the division of student life and seeing that we have an absolutely wonderful group of people who are truly here for the students. I see it on a daily basis — if my kids were away at school I wouldn't know that," Diann explained. As an added benefit, Diann said she's very happy that she doesn't have to find a hotel room for Commencement Weekend!
 The Campanies |
Don Croft said sometimes being too close to home can be a disadvantage. "The first few weeks of his first year, Sean was coming home every weekend. We told him to stay on campus and make some friends and experience college life," Don said. Now Sean doesn't come home as frequently.
Don said he and his wife told their children they could go anywhere they wanted for college. "Once Sean knew this was feasible, this was where he wanted to go," Don said.
Horticultural Grounds Worker Mike Mahanna said his son, Ryan, a first-year student "always wanted to go to school here. He went to Coach Murphy's basketball camp for 10 years and worked with me in the Glen, so it's like he grew up at Hamilton," Mike said.
"I'll run into him on campus, and his mother does his laundry, but for the most part he's become part of the Hamilton community," Mike added. The Mahannas enjoy having Ryan and his friends come by for a home-cooked meal every few weeks, and will host a group for the NCAA basketball tournament.
"The entire 13 years I've worked here, I thought to myself 'I'd love for my son to be part of this,'" Mike said. For the Mahannas and many other Hamilton employees, that dream is coming true.
