On Saturday, February 24, 2024, Farmingdale State College’s (FSC) signature green spirit wear jumped in a sea of royal blue, orange, and white jerseys at a packed UBS Arena in Elmont, NY, for FSC Day at the New York Islanders.
Nearly 200 FSC campus community members, including John S. Nader, PhD, president of FSC, alumni, students, faculty, staff, friends, and family came together with almost 17,000 arena guests for an afternoon National Hockey League (NHL) game of the Islanders verses the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Event attendees enjoyed sports entertainment, FSC festivities and swag, including a limited edition embroidered hat, FSC’s Reimagine What’s Possible video broadcast on the main jumbotron, and an exclusive post-game photo opportunity on the ice. Six FSC students even hopped on the Fanboni for an exhilarating ride during the game’s first intermission.
“What a great event at UBS Arena to share with so many in our campus community,” said President Nader. “Indeed, FSC Day at the New York Islanders was a wonderful opportunity to take in an exciting hockey game and celebrate our school spirit. We have so much to be proud of at FSC.
“A big thank you to all who joined us on Saturday, and to those who could not—you were missed!” he added.
“I’ve never been to a hockey game before and I’ve always really wanted to go,” said Tiffany Nanan, ’23, a business management graduate. “My experience [today] is it is very amazing seeing everything!
“I actually really do love that Farmingdale tries to include students to go [to events]. Through Farmingdale I also went to my first Giants game-- first football game really. I am an alumni student now and I’m trying to take advantage of everything that’s possible, and I do give back to Farmingdale as well. It is really great that they include alumni in events,” she added.
“My favorite part of today is all of the alumni that are coming up and talking about when they graduated and how much they loved Farmingdale,” said Matthew Giafone, FSC transfer services reenrollment counselor. “It really shows that we are building that community and that it really is impacting the previous generations and hopefully future generations.”
“I think it’s very important and really good for the community,” agreed Liz Thompson, FSC transfer advisor. “It helps all the students, and everyone stay connected.”
Bill Jimenez, ’10, a business management graduate, who now works as coordinator of alumni relations at Stony Brook University, highlighted the strong FSC turnout despite the Islanders’ eventual loss with a final score of 4 to 2. Players Anders Lee and Brock Nelson both scored goals in the third period.
“I’m enjoying that I’m seeing a lot of Farmingdale students, Farmingdale alum, coming to the game, supporting the game,” said Jimenez. “A lot of staff members are here too. We are trying to see the Islanders win. They aren’t doing that well, but we’re still here as a community and having a good time.”
James Casey, ’25, a liberal arts major, said it was special to share his first Islanders game with his godson, James.
“I think it’s nice as a Long Islander to finally be a part of something that’s quite essential to being a Long Islander,” he said. “I’m with my godson and he’s a big islander fan so I’m happy to be here with him. I’m glad I came.”
View more photos from FSC Day at the New York Islanders on our Flickr Gallery.