A new exhibition experience is coming to Ithaca College. The Park Convention, hosted by Park Promotions, will showcase student work from across the Roy H. Park School of Communications’ 10 majors and nine minors. The inaugural Park Convention will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. April 19 on the third floor of Park Hall.
Park Promotions Manager Mickie Quinn said the idea for the structure of the convention came from a similar event at The School of Music, Theatre, and Dance
“They were telling us about this thing that Dillingham does,” Quinn said. “It’s like they’re doing a science fair where students get to exhibit things they’re working on and really get a chance to speak passionately about these projects. They said Park should do something like that. … From there, the idea started to grow.”
Junior Julia Freitor, a member of Park Promotions, is the team lead for the convention. She said there are majors, minors, extracurriculars and projects at the Park School of which many Park students are not aware.
“Our students are complaining that we don’t know what the other people do,” Freitor said. “We all do our own separate thing. … So [we] took that insight and wanted to make an event that would bridge that gap.”
Freitor said the convention will not only provide a space for students to exhibit their work beyond the classroom, but will also give students a chance to get feedback about their work from faculty, staff and other students.
“It just feels wrong to do all this work for so long for a semester-long project and then only present it to your class for a grade,” Freitor said. “I feel like these are things that we’re learning and we should be proud to share them with other people.”
Senior Kaylee Maietta, one of Park Promotions’ project managers who is working on the convention team, said the goal of the convention is to share projects beyond isolated film screenings and end-of-year showings.
“I think [the convention] has a lot of potential to really foster a sense of togetherness,” Maietta said. “A lot of times there’s not a lot of overlap between each major and someone’s going to see their specific friend do something. We really want to just promote all of the different ideas and philosophies of Park and really let people come together and see things that they might not see in other majors.”
Quinn said preparation included getting the idea approved by Dean Amy Falkner, setting up applications for students to participate, promoting to all the majors to ensure diversity among submissions, and planning the dates and location.
“Once all of those elements are together — what’s being presented, how it’s being presented, all the details — we need to put all of that together,” Quinn said. “We’ll make sure that people show up and it’s successful and then we’ll have [the] media there to make sure it’s documented and covered. Also, the after: sending thank you notes to everyone.”
Maietta said part of her role is to send out press releases and email pitches to get as many people involved as possible. She said she is also responsible for tracking required forms and general logistics. On the day of the event, everyone will have different responsibilities.
“There’ll be different people acting as floaters, walking around and helping, and just some people making sure the event runs smoothly,” Maietta said. “Every event management role that is required [for] something on this scale will be going around and filling in those jobs.”
Freitor said each presenter will have a QR code where viewers can leave feedback about the project and its presentation. She said this will encourage engagement from both the presenters and the viewers on the day of the convention and beyond.
“Part of it is ‘Okay, so I’m taking this resume and I’m writing my thoughts on this person,” and … ‘Hey, it would have been even better if you did XYZ,’” Freitor said. “It’s a chance for professors, staff, faculty, students … to give feedback in a way that’s not critical or for a grade, but with the intent of growing and learning together as a community of the Park School.”
Senior Olivia Celenza said via email that she will be presenting her musical “Arkhamites” — which she wrote with junior Sam Wurdemann — at the Park Convention. She said it is a creative endeavor that she is proud of and wants to share it with others.
“I was able to grow as a creator and a collaborator as well as find a family that has touched my heart forever,” Celenza said via email. “That’s why it’s a no-brainer to showcase, because everyone involved gave everything they had to us, and I will always be grateful.”
Celenza said she is excited to share her goals for her project with a broader audience, like raising money to create an official cast album.
Sophomore Ethan Beer, a member of Park Promotions, is in charge of social media promotions for the convention. He said Park Promotions is planning for the convention to happen annually, like the Whalen Symposium, to create a consistent event for people to plan for in the future.
“[We are] laying the groundwork this year for [something] that people look forward to and something that people want to present at every year and show their friends,” Beer said.
Beer said he manages the student spotlights on the Park School’s Instagram page which highlights one student at a time, but the convention could spotlight a diverse array of students all at once. He said that while the event is officially over on April 19, students are encouraged to keep their posters up the next day. This will allow prospective students to view current students’ projects during the April 20 open house.
“[We can] show prospective students, current students, faculty, parents, what actually goes on in the Park School,” Beer said. “We only do so much work with [Instagram spotlights] but having a convention, where people are able to come and view it themselves and talk to students, is an amazing experience for current students [and] prospective students.”
Quinn said that once the convention is established, the opportunities to share ideas and projects can expand beyond poster boards.
“How we anticipate this growing is needing to do this in the Emerson Suites and to make it eventually grow to where there are speakers and students can hold panel discussions about different topics,” Quinn said. “It’s really Park student-driven on Park content.”
Freitor said the applications have been impressive and she is excited to see how everyone presents their projects. She said there were 12 application submissions — one submission per group — and approximately 21 presenters.
“It’s been so cool to see what people work on,” Freitor said. “We’re breaking down the stigma floors of Park, bridging together the gap. Never after this will there be a question of what does this major do? We should — we will — know.”
