Small Team, Real Marketing

The 2023 ICAMA cohort claimed the "Top Small Chapter of the Year" title.

The 2023 ICAMA cohort claimed the "Top Small Chapter of the Year" title.

ICAMA at IC's 2024 Informational Fair.

Across more than 300 collegiate AMA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada, IC consistently stands out.

"We usually do very well," Erickson said. Even as a smaller institution, the chapter regularly earns recognition among schools many times its size. Last year, IC received an honorable mention in the national case competition, a meaningful accomplishment for a chapter that, like many student organizations, has spent the past few years rebuilding after COVID.

For chapter co-president and marketing major Sarah Shenman '26, that growth has unfolded alongside her own. She joined during her first semester at IC, when the chapter was rebuilding and shaping a new generation of members.

"I want to make this better," Shenman recalled of her early involvement. "What we're doing right now is good, but I want to make this better."

Today, Shenman is one of the longest-serving members in the chapter's recent history. She has helped recruit every student currently serving as an officer, an entire generation of new marketers. And the chapter, now thriving, is poised for one of its strongest years yet at the international competition.

"I expect to get top-five small chapters this year," she said. "That's happening-I'm making that happen."

"We are a little firm ourselves ... We offer consulting, social media experience… and we work with a number of clients in the Ithaca area."

Central to the chapter's work is AMA's signature national case competition, a months-long deep dive into branding, consumer behavior, and strategic planning. This year, the case sponsor is Major League Baseball, in partnership with the accounting firm Deloitte.

Students conduct both primary research-such as surveys, interviews, and focus groups-and secondary research that analyzes existing market reports and industry data. Their focus groups even use advanced eye-tracking and facial scanning software available in the Neeson Digital Marketing and Analytics Lab, which shows where participants' eyes move on a screen and what captures (or loses) their attention. "We expose all of our members to this," Shenman said. "It's a very comprehensive project."

The competition has become such a defining experience that Erickson recently helped create a course around it. Students can now receive academic credit for the extensive work they put into building their case, leveling the playing field with larger institutions that have long offered similar classes.

"It's a way to manage it," Erickson said. "A marketing plan is information collection and processing and putting it together. Having dedicated time makes a huge difference."

For Shenman, AMA isn't just an extracurricular-it's been transformative.

"I think it's completely changed the trajectory of my entire life," she said. "Freshman year me would be so proud."

AMA strengthened her communication skills. It gave her leadership experience. It taught her how to run workshops, pitch ideas, and manage clients. She has used AMA stories in interviews for internships-and landed them.

"I don't think my college career would have been even a little bit the same," she said. "I don't think I would be as confident as a person and as a professional."

ICAMA's Poppi & Pitch event.

This spring, the chapter will take 10-12 students to Chicago for the International Collegiate Conference. The trip includes competitions, keynote speakers, networking events, and team-building experiences.

"It's a new city, and I'm really excited about the group going this year," Shenman said. "It's my last one, so it's bittersweet, but I think our chapter is probably in the best place it's been since I've attended Ithaca."

In the months ahead, AMA is also planning:

• A Women in Marketing panel
• A collaboration with SUNY Oneonta for a joint speaker event
• Workshops with the Center for Career Exploration and Development
• A sustainability-focused partnership with campus offices
• A major recruitment push to build its pipeline

As always, the chapter is raising funds to support conference travel, through sticker sales, student government appeals, and potential donor partnerships.

Today's chapter is thriving-growing membership, taking on ambitious projects, and preparing for one of its strongest showings yet on the national stage. Students aren't just studying marketing; they're applying it, testing it, and learning from it in real time.

As Erickson put it, "AMA lets students do the work marketers actually do," building the skills and confidence that shape capable marketers-not someday, but now.

At Ithaca College, students don't just learn about marketing-they get access to the kinds of hands-on opportunities that shape confidence, creativity, and career direction. Whether you're drawn to the School of Business, the Roy H. Park School of Communications, or you're exploring interests from elsewhere across campus, ICAMA is one example of how students can collaborate, experiment, and discover what excites them.