The Ithaca College community remembers Harry Shuldman ’08, who died in a car crash Jan. 26 during a wildlife trip in Uganda. Shuldman was a staff member for The Ithacan who went on to work as a copy editor for The New York Post.

While at the college, Shuldman majored in cinema and photography with a concentration in screenwriting, according to April Johanns, coordinator of student and external relations in the Roy H. Park School of Communications. 

Shuldman worked as a cartoonist and staff writer for The Ithacan, covering movie releases, comedy events and more for the Accent section of the paper, which is now known as the Life and Culture section. 

Andy Swift ’09 said he edited Shuldman’s work while serving as the assistant Accent editor during the 2006-07 academic year and Accent editor during Fall 2007. Swift said he still remembers Shuldman’s upbeat demeanor and powerful writing voice.

“He was an absolute pleasure to work with,” Swift said. “Any week that we had a piece from Harry Shuldman in our section was a very good week. He had a real gift for writing beyond just crafting a well-structured review. He wrote with authority and deep, cultivated knowledge of his subject matter.”

Josh Mellman ’09 worked as The Ithacan’s accent editor during the 2006-07 academic year and said The Ithacan editors and staff deeply respected Shuldman’s work and character.

“He was one of our top writers that we worked with,” Mellman said. “Even if the page was late, if it was one of his stories, we weren’t too worried about it, because they were usually kind of easy edits. There wasn’t too much from the editor-in-chief.”

Erica Hendry ’09 worked as the editor-in-chief of The Ithacan during Shuldman’s senior year, from 2007-08. Hendry said via text message that Shuldman was adept at creating humorous and thought-provoking cartoons about serious topics, which is challenging for many people, let alone college students. 

“There were so many parts of newspaper production that were difficult and required a lot of discussion,” Hendry wrote. “With so much of Harry’s stuff, it just felt easy. I went through some old emails, and it was so funny to see how many editors [were] forwarding me Harry’s latest cartoon submission with awe and excitement. They were often passed along with simply a, ‘YES!!! Or HARRY NAILED IT.’ He could take a concept or idea and bring it to life.” 

Outside of The Ithacan, Shuldman’s love for movies and pop culture led to long-term friendships.

Jiah Peck ’09 said he met Shuldman in 2006 when they both lived on the third floor of Emerson Hall. Peck said they connected over their shared love for TV shows like “The Wire” and “The Sopranos.” 

“I don’t have any brothers, but … [Shuldman] was like that kind of brother who just gave you all these great recommendations on new bands to listen to,” Peck said. “He was like the older brother I never had, in some ways.”

Peck recalled how he and Shuldman attended movie screenings together while Shuldman wrote reviews for The Ithacan. They road-tripped to New Jersey in 2007 to watch the filming for the final episodes of “The Sopranos.”

Peck and Shuldman continued to discuss the media that they loved after graduation. Peck said Shuldman was always his first call whenever he traveled to New York City, and they would typically meet up to watch a movie together. 

“If there was ever a coronation for King of Pop Culture, he would definitely be a contender,” Peck said. “He just had such a way with words. He was dialed into some mysterious force. And I always just came away from our conversations feeling smarter in a way, just from being around him.”

Zach Cava ’09 said he also met Shuldman while living in Emerson Hall. Though Cava was a biology major and did not take any of the same courses as Shuldman, the two bonded over their passions for art and music and their curiosity about the world.

Cava and Shuldman later lived off campus together. Cava said some of his most fond college memories are from when he and Shuldman went on road trips together to concerts and music festivals, including Bonnaroo and Woodstock.

“[He had a] much different personality than me, more outgoing, but I was always impressed with how he could find common ground with anybody,” Cava said. 

After his time at the college, Shuldman pursued a master’s degree in film theory at New York University and graduated in 2013, according to an obituary published by the New York Post. 

Shuldman started working as a part-time copy clerk at The New York Post in 2014 before becoming a part-time copy editor in 2016 and a full-time copy editor in 2018. The Post obituary wrote that Shuldman became the “go-to copy desk editor for quick and witty headlines.”

Cava said Shuldman had many talents and interests outside of work. He and Shuldman both became more serious about their passion for photography over the last several years. Shuldman posted many photos to his Flickr page.

Cava said Shuldman was his closest friend and one of the few classmates he kept in touch with from college. They enjoyed traveling together, including to Costa Rica in 2024 and Uganda in January. During the trip to Uganda, Cava and Shuldman hoped to photograph animals like chimpanzees, elephants, snakes and mountain gorillas.

“If he had to have one final adventure, this one was hard to top, because I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him so happy,” Cava said. “He was so excited, especially to see mountain gorillas, and that happened the day before he died. And there were several days when he would say, ‘Wow, this day just makes the whole trip worth it.’ … It was just an amazing experience. I’ll never forget it, and I’m glad I got to experience that stuff with him.”

Cava said the trip left him with enduring memories of Shuldman’s kindness and thoughtfulness.

“He was just a really unique guy, very funny, very sweet [and] really loved his family,” Cava said. “On the [Uganda] trip, he was really into souvenirs, and we’d be all … waiting in the truck to get ready to go to the next place, and he would just realize he forgot to get something for his mom, and next thing we know, he was gone, he was running back into the store to find something for her. And that’s just kind of the type of guy he was — always thinking about other people.”