This Family Weekend, many parents came to visit their children and get a glimpse of what life is like at Colgate University. Each year, Family Weekend also brings in groups of alumni, whose children are now students. For these families, Colgate has been a huge part of their lives. Junior Taryn Lane and her parents, alumni James Lane ’91 and Liana Lane ’97 spoke on this commitment. Taryn Lane, a political science major on the pre-med track, expressed how being a student with parents who are alumni has shaped her experience at Colgate.
“I think having parents who went to Colgate has made my Colgate experience better in the sense that I have seen firsthand how valuable the Colgate network is and how deep the alumni loyalty to the school runs, which has motivated me to take advantage of all the alumni connections available to me,” Taryn Lane said. “However, I was actually deterred from applying to Colgate originally because of the fact they went here. I didn’t want to “follow in their footsteps,” so for a while, I didn’t even consider Colgate as an option but I’m very happy things worked out the way they did.”
Taryn Lane, like her parents before her, has definitely taken advantage of all Colgate has to offer through her involvement around campus. She is the current director of academic excellence for Kappa Kappa Gamma, co-director of fundraising for Backpacks for Kids, a member of Model United Nations and a former Student Government Association senator.
Taryn Lane’s parents also cast a wide net of involvement during their times at Colgate. Liana Lane, a psychology major and political science minor who graduated in 1997, was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta, a step aerobics teacher at the Colgate gym and a member of the debate team. Just before Liana Lane’s time at Colgate, James Lane, an international relations major from the Class of 1991, was also active around campus. He was a member of the Student Alliance, president of Theta Chi, president of the Intra-Fraternity and Sorority council, member of the rugby team and a member of the senior honor society.
Despite the three being involved in different organizations from one another, some of which no longer exist, Taryn Lane believes the school’s core identity has not changed much throughout the years.
“I think [my parents and I] have actually had more similar experiences than different ones, which is nice in that it allows us to connect more,” Taryn Lane said. “There might be some differences in the academic opportunities available, but I think socially the school is very similar to as it was in the [1990s] in that it still has the small-school ‘bubble’ feel that encourages the formation of deep connections.”
Colgate’s close-knit campus has definitely made the experiences for all of the Lane family members similar. Liana Lane appreciates the enduring Colgate traditions such as the Torchlight Ceremony during Commencement Weekend, celebrating the number 13 and eating pizza at New York Pizzeria, fondly known as Slices. However, she also explained that the current Colgate students immerse themselves further in campus activities and make greater use of campus resources than students in the past.
“The student body seems more involved and engaged with the school and the opportunities it has to offer than when I attended,” Liana Lane said.
James Lane pointed out some advancements Colgate has made as well as the increased engagement with academics he has observed among current students.
“The school has only gotten better with time in terms of academics, athletics and resources available to students,” James Lane said. “The student body also seems more connected within their classes since they have to live uphill for [their] first and second year[s] now.”
Taryn Lane’s parents have been able to see these changes occur as they come back to the school for reunions. In fact, the two met when returning for an alumni reunion at an event hosted by James’ old fraternity. Years have passed since then, but the two still remain connected to Colgate via their old friends and of course, their daughter, who has kept the Colgate family tradition alive.
