This feature is part of the Hawkeye Family series, where we share stories of connection, memories, and insights from one of our families. In this installment, we meet Patrick, Amy, and their daughter Addison, a second-year student studying Journalism and Mass Communication, German, and Sport and Recreation Management. We asked them to reflect on their journey to Iowa City, memorable moments, and how they stay connected with over 800 miles between them. Read their story, as told by Amy, below.
Why we chose Iowa
I'm an alumna of the University of Iowa (B.S. ’99, environmental science) and was recruited to Iowa from Pennsylvania for gymnastics. Iowa City has always been a special place to me, and I’ve returned every few years to visit friends, attend Homecoming and gymnastics meets. My family was finally able to join me in Iowa City for the first time in November 2022, when Addie and her older sister started looking into colleges.
To our surprise, both girls really enjoyed their visit, and both applied when it was time for college applications. Addie is focusing on an education and career in sports media, and she knew the journalism and mass communication program at Iowa is one of the best in the country — not to mention its top-level Division I sports teams. She felt it was the perfect fit for her: the highly ranked academic program, the strong sports-media coverage, a downtown that is adjacent to and part of campus, all of the activities and clubs for students, and how genuinely nice everyone always seemed.
Our favorite Iowa memory
Addie and I attended an Iowa women’s basketball game at the University of Maryland in March 2024. It was an incredible, crazy, competitive, loud and tense environment, and Iowa pulled out a win in the last few minutes of the game. We had made signs to bring, and we were able to get Caitlin Clark’s autograph on them — the cherry on top of an amazing night!
We knew we were going back to visit Iowa a week later for Addie’s “last-look” visit before she made her final college decision. We lucked out and got tickets to another women’s basketball game during that visit. Thanks to a friend and her connections, we were thrilled to sit in the media section, alongside sportscasters, online reporters, and university social media teams, where Addie got to see firsthand the environment and the jobs she wants to pursue.
And that happened to be the game when Caitlin Clark hit the giant-logo shot to break the NCAA scoring record! It was an unbelievable, electric, historic moment that we will never forget.
Our campus favorites
When we’re back in Iowa City, we love to hit some of my old favorites — Hamburg Inn No. 2 for yummy breakfasts, the Airliner (where I worked for several years) for pizza, the Java House for relaxing coffee time, and we usually hunt for a taco pizza since those aren’t a thing in PA. We enjoy walking through the Ped Mall, stopping for boba tea, and checking out the local shops and restaurants. Depending on the season, we love going to football, basketball, field hockey games, and of course gymnastics meets. We also love thrifting as a family, always looking for unique or “vintage” Hawkeye gear — although I still have quite a few shirts and sweatshirts from my days at Iowa. (True vintage!)
Our advice for Hawkeye parents
I wouldn’t say it’s something I wish I’d known earlier, but it’s something I’m continually learning. Being a fellow Hawkeye, with so many memories and ties to the university, it’s hard not to influence a child who is beginning the college search or who is already a student. It’s so easy to say, “Oh, I worked here,” or “I lived there,” or “When I was here….” Those kinds of comments can shape a kid’s thoughts — sometimes in good ways, and sometimes not.
It really is important to let a child experience campus through their own eyes: researching the clubs and activities that interest them, taking classes that appeal to them, spending their free time in different ways, and allowing them to grow into that space. They need to see whether they can imagine themselves at this university, rather than seeing their parent here.
Now, Addie is a sophomore, works for the football team’s videography department and the university’s social-media team, and is building her own Hawkeye life. It’s a privilege to be a Hawkeye, and sharing that experience with your children is so fun — but watching them follow their own path, and giving them the space to do that, is even more exciting. So I guess what I’m learning is that it’s about stepping aside, giving them room to be themselves, supporting them through their decisions and watching them create an amazing life with all the opportunities this university offers.
How we stay connected
We text Addie regularly, just to check in, see how her day is going, ask about any upcoming events, and send random texts with words of encouragement. We FaceTime when she has free time, but we usually try to catch up on Sundays when she is ending her weekend and getting ready for the upcoming week.
We tend to communicate the most on football Saturdays. Since we live far away and have to watch the games on TV, and since she works for the football team and is at all of the home games or watching the away games, we send each other text messages during and after the game about all of the plays, calls, scores, etc. We shout, cheer, and complain just like true fanatic Hawkeye fans, as if we were at the game together! And of course, after a win, we send an “In Heaven There Is No Beer” text.