The Ordinary and the Extraordinary

When Gabriel McManus ’25 enrolled in guitar classes with award-winning performer and songwriter Todd Hobin, he expected to perfect his technique, from proper hand positioning to strumming patterns. McManus did not anticipate that he would come away from the experience with a greater appreciation than ever before for music, history and storytelling. However, that’s exactly what happened. What’s more, McManus also learned how those seemingly disparate disciplines intersected. He experienced that even more as the foundation for his thesis for the College’s Integral Honors Program, a 45-minute documentary on Hobin’s life called Keepin’ the Dream Alive.

A history major, McManus is interested in using public media to share stories. He has always had experience. Their work with Hobin, who has been a mentor to him, filled in the gaps. McManus not only got to envision the project, while his time at Le Moyne and work as an intern at a PBS affiliate in his hometown of Binghamton, New York, provided him with the technical skills needed to undertake this task. He oversaw the project from beginning to end, from research to filming to editing. He even used a scholarship he received at Le Moyne to purchase the camera he used to make the documentary.

McManus plans to screen the film publicly. He hopes that it will provide people with a greater appreciation for Hobin’s long career and impact on the upstate New York music scene. McManus also hopes that this will be the first of many documentaries he will create. After he completes his master’s degree in business administration from Le Moyne, he plans to launch his own production company. His aim is to tell stories that help people better understand each other and the world around them.