Hannah Quigley
American Studies and Spanish
Olney, Md.
Why did you choose Cornell?
I remember the exact moment I decided to apply early decision to Cornell. I was attending Girls Nation in Washington, D.C., the summer before my senior year of high school. As I sat watching my peers deliver eloquent, impactful and persuasive speeches during their candidacy for elected office in our mock government, I realized that I wanted to learn to speak like that, too. My parents met on the Cornell Speech & Debate team, so I always knew that program existed. Yet I had never envisioned myself as part of that group. At Girls Nation, I realized the power my voice could hold and how I wanted to learn to harness that.
I was also drawn to Cornell for its unique Cornell in Washington programming. Being from the D.C. area and a pre-law, pre-government student, spending time in the District was important to me, but I didn’t want to be so close to home for four years. Cornell in Washington gave me the perfect opportunity to intern in and explore the city while also enjoying an independent college experience on Cornell’s beautiful campus.
What was your favorite class and why?
My favorite class was AMST 1312, History of Rock Music, taught by Professor Judith Peraino. This class was an introductory survey of how popular music in the U.S. grew alongside historical and political developments. We traced the evolution of rock and roll from the Beatles to Radiohead. I have always loved listening to and making music (shoutout to my a cappella group, Hearsay A Cappella!), and this course showed me that pop music could be a subject with academic and artistic merit. I later worked closely with Professor Peraino on my American Studies honors thesis, which conducts an oral history of the Los Angeles folk rock and counterculture scene in the 1960s and 1970s.
What have you accomplished as a Cornell student that you are most proud of?
I am so proud that I completed my Spanish major at Cornell. I come from a Mexican-American family, but I did not grow up speaking Spanish at home, so learning my culture’s language has always been important to me. However, I did not expect to major in Spanish in college; I’d heard from my peers that language classes were notoriously difficult, and I was insecure about my Spanish abilities.
In the end, I’m so glad that I decided to make that commitment to exploring my heritage. I leave Cornell fluent and able to connect with my family on a deeper level. To expand my bilingual skills and my biliteracy, I challenged myself to take graduate-level seminars with native speakers, enrolled in intensive Spanish writing courses, and dove deep into Mexican history and politics. Since childhood, my family has called me their “estrellita fugaz" (little shooting star). I hope I’ve proven them right!
Who or what influenced your Cornell education the most?
My Spanish major advisor, Irina Raquel Troconis Gonzalez, radically changed my perspective on education itself. I was lucky enough to take two classes with Professor Troconis: SPAN 3710, Latin American Documentary, and SPAN 4666, Specters of Latin America. Prof. Troconis truly cares about each of her students on a personal, human level, and it shows. She brings her warm, empathetic and engaging personality to her fascinating course topics. For example, in Latin American Documentary, we traced the history and politics of several Latin American countries entirely through film. Her class is designed to improve writing and analysis skills, while giving students the space they need to learn and grow. Amid the stress of high-pressure Cornell classes, Prof. Troconis’s courses were always a breath of fresh air, reminding me that I was a person first and student second.
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.
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