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When Joseph Agori ’23 first arrived at SUNY Potsdam, he planned on keeping his head down, going to class, and getting his degree. Instead, he shed an inherently introverted mentality to become a leader on campus. As a resident assistant, peer counselor, student ambassador, and president of the rugby club—he took advantage of every opportunity that came his way.

When Joyce “Jackie” (Tantillo) Aab ’71 thinks of her time at SUNY Potsdam, she can’t help but smile. “My memories of my time at Potsdam are probably among the happiest memories of my life,” she shared. “Leaving home and attending college is where I became self-sufficient. I became independent.” Jackie graduated from Potsdam with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a certification in elementary education. Afterward, she taught elementary school in Northern New York before moving back to Rochester and completing her master’s degree in education at Nazareth College.

When Makenzie Kuntz '26 met with a SUNY Potsdam admissions counselor at her high school, she initially had only one thought: Is SUNY Potsdam pet-friendly? 

When a mother leaves the hospital after giving birth, she can often find herself at home dealing with a flood of hormonal changes and stress. Then there are the choices about how to feed their baby. Some parents choose infant formula, while others opt for traditional breastfeeding, the latter of which provides the greatest health benefits, but can also lead to pain or challenges with milk production. That’s where Danielle Thompson ’15 steps in.

When Ralph Hastings ’70, ’73 & ’02 was a graduate student at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music, his professor, Dr. James Stoltie, handed back a graded paper with a note, “Keep this. You might need it sometime.” Hastings, an aspiring music teacher, took those words to heart. “I thought, I’d better keep track of it, because I might use it someday… which I did!” Hastings said.

When Roberta “Bobbie” Reed Hamilton ’60 entered her Crane School of Music audition in 1956, she was eager to sing “Shortnin’ Bread” and play “Deep Purple” on piano. The panel of professors listened patiently as she presented the two popular songs before inviting her to return at a subsequent date with classical pieces prepared.

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When she was just five years old, Samantha McComb ’20, found herself staring through a glass case at a beautiful purple amethyst geode at the New York State Museum in Albany. The following day, she mentioned how much she liked the sparkling crystal-lined rock and her mom drove her back to the museum’s gift shop to buy it. Unfortunately, it was gone, and the young McComb was devastated.

When she was still in high school and trying to choose a college that would meet her needs, Nicole Weed ’20 quickly settled on SUNY Potsdam. “I was mostly looking at SUNY schools, and I ended up coming to SUNY Potsdam because of the anthropology department—that’s where I really wanted to study,” she said.