'Faculty took my work seriously'

Emma Dalla Costa: Anthropology and Government

5/15/2026

Emma Dalla Costa

Anthropology and Government
Trento, Italy

What is your main extracurricular activity and why is it important to you?

My main extracurricular commitments have been my involvement in the Italian Society at Cornell and my role as a peer career advisor. Through the Italian Society, I found a space to stay connected to my cultural background while also creating a sense of community for others who share it. It became a place where being far from home felt a little less distant, and where I could contribute to something that brought people together.

As a peer career advisor for the Central Career Office on campus, I had the opportunity to support fellow students in a more direct and practical way. Guiding others through questions about their paths, applications and uncertainties taught me a lot, not only about career development, but also about listening, responsibility and how to be present for someone else’s process. Together, these experiences have been important because they allowed me to both find community and actively contribute to it.

What Cornell memory do you treasure the most?

The memory I treasure most is not a single defined moment, but the accumulation of small, everyday experiences: late conversations after class, time spent with friends, and the feeling of being part of a community that was both intellectually challenging and personally supportive. Those moments created a sense of continuity and belonging that shaped my experience in ways that are hard to trace back to any one event.

Over time, Cornell became a place where I was able to grow into myself, both academically and personally. It gave me the space to clarify what I care about and the confidence to pursue it seriously. In that sense, it has played a fundamental role in shaping who I am today. What I carry with me most is the sense that I can now engage with the world more intentionally and responsibly, and that I have the tools to contribute, in my own way, to something beyond myself. That is something I am genuinely proud of.

What have you accomplished as a Cornell student that you are most proud of?

The accomplishment I am most proud of is my honors thesis, which I developed over the course of two years, from my junior to senior year. What makes it particularly meaningful to me is the full process behind it. I began by shaping the initial research idea in a course, and then worked to refine it, apply for funding, and design a project that I could carry out independently. I conducted ethnographic fieldwork and interviews in Milan, Italy, navigating the research process on my own and engaging directly with the people and contexts I was studying. From there, I translated that experience into a full written thesis, which I ultimately defended.

This experience was not only central to my academic work, but also an important form of preparation for my future path. It taught me how to take a project from an idea to completion, and showed me how much I was able to do with the support of Cornell’s resources while still working independently

Who or what influenced your Cornell education the most?

The anthropology department as a whole had the most significant influence on my education at Cornell. What shaped me was not only the content of individual courses, but the broader approach to thinking that the department fostered. Across classes, there was a consistent emphasis on engaging seriously with complexity, questioning assumptions and grounding ideas in lived experience. Within this environment, my thesis advisor, Magnus Fiskesjö, and my major advisor, Viranjini Munasinghe, played an important role in guiding my development. Through their mentorship, I was able to refine my research questions, strengthen my approach to ethnographic work and think more critically about the implications of my research.

More than any single class or person, it was this collective intellectual and pedagogical approach, supported by faculty who took my work seriously, that influenced me most. It shaped how I think, how I ask questions and ultimately the direction I chose to pursue after Cornell.

What are your plans for next year?

Next year I will begin a Ph.D. in sociology and anthropology at Northeastern University. This is an exciting next step for me, as it allows me to continue developing the research I began during my undergraduate studies. I plan to build on my work in ethnographic research, with a focus on migration, belonging and social inclusion, continuing to explore the kinds of questions that shaped my honors thesis.

Every year, our faculty nominate graduating Arts & Sciences students to be featured as part of our Extraordinary Journeys series. Read more about the Class of 2026.