The Tenacious Legacies
Elmira, NY (09/03/2021) — As the Tenacious Class of 2025 embarks on their Elmira College journey, fourteen Legacy students are following in the footsteps of family members who remember well the ceremonies and traditions that make Elmira College their place.
Jefferey Scalessa '96 and his wife Nicole Ketcham Scalessa '97 met at Elmira and went on to get married. Now, their daughter Allisandra Scalessa '25 dons the Elmira College purple-and-gold banner alongside them.
"I love that EC keeps up the tradition of college songs which so many others have abandoned," said Nicole in support of the My Elmira Challenge campaign. "I still have some of them memorized."
Similarly, for Maya Powers '25, multiple members of her family are alumni. She joins her father Timothy Powers '78 and her sister, Leita, a member of the Phenomenal Class of 2014.
And for four of the Legacy students, starting at the College brings them closer to their siblings who are currently attending Elmira College.
Although Legacy students are carrying the mantle for their families, they will also find their own paths here as we celebrate who they are while preparing them for wherever they are going. And perhaps, down the road, they will have their own torches to pass on.
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Some of the Tenacious Class of 2025 Legacy students and their family members were on-hand during orientation. Across the top from left to right: Alexandria Naylor '25, Cristy-Lee Webster '25, Mason Cardinale '25, Allisandra Scalessa '25, Jefferey Scalessa '96, and Nicole Ketcham Scalessa '97. Across the bottom from left to right: Alexa Sitzer '25, Kari Sitzer '16, Timothy Powers '78, and Maya Powers '25.