One word sums up this post and its author's message about Cornell's intellectually diverse community: passionate. In this last November post, junior Carlee Moses describes how the spirit of interdisciplinary inquiry first drew her to Cornell. Enjoy!
By: Carlee Moses '18
To me, the spirit of Cornell is defined by the diverse and varied passions of its students, faculty, and staff. When I first arrived at Cornell a little over two years ago, I was so impressed and intrigued by the conversations I overheard as I wandered around campus. I remember people were discussing American politics, the human body system, books and articles they had recently encountered, foreign affairs, research studies they had either read about or participated in, the future of our planet Earth, and the scientific reasoning behind how Tums help to better stomach ailments. As a self-proclaimed Tums addict, overhearing that specific conversation was truly life-changing. Cornellians do what they love and love what they do, and they are always willing to share their particular academic passion with others. The spirit of Cornell has definitely shaped my own college experience. In my classes, my peers always bring a diverse range of academic backgrounds to class discussions. Through this, I am able to gain new and different perspectives on class material. For example, in Politics of Public Policy last semester, Professor Michener often had us break into groups and discuss specific policies or policy areas. One day, she asked us to brainstorm a policy that we believed would better the American prison system. One of my group members, a student in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), had worked on a project that created a plan to put former prisoners to work in environmentally friendly businesses. She shared with us her plan, and the knowledge she had learned in ILR. Because of her different academic background and viewpoint, she was able to provide me with a different perspective and a new idea. In my personal life, my friends also represent a varied range of passions: from the social sciences to the physical sciences, American studies to Near Eastern Studies, Hotel Administration to Urban Planning, Architecture to Industrial and Labor Relations, and economics to Earth science and sustainability, each of the friends I have made at Cornell has their own unique passion. The commonality is that each of my friends, and every person in the larger Cornell community, is equally passionate.
As a current junior, Cornell has pushed me to strengthen my passions, and also discover new ones. When I arrived on campus in August 2014, I knew that I loved history - specifically, American history. I need to dive deeper than the textbook synopsis versions of historical events. I want to know the stories behind the people I study. Who and what made these people who they were? It wasn’t until I met one of my now closest friends here at Cornell, a Near Eastern Studies major, that I decided to take my studies outside of the Western world, and enrolled in a course on Iran. This course made me want to know more about the Middle East, encouraging me to pursue more classes in the Near Eastern Studies department, and igniting within me a new passion. When I sit in some of my favorite places on campus, I still can’t help but listen in to the conversations I overhear. It’s been more than two years since I arrived at Cornell, and my peers continue to blow me away. This spirit of Cornell – the diverse and deep passions of the Cornell community and the drive to pursue them – initially drew me here, and it’s what has made my college experience so absolutely transformative.
