Emmy Kanarowski
Science and Technology Studies and Information Science
Park City, Utah
What was your favorite class and why?
While I thoroughly enjoyed all my classes at Cornell, my favorite class was STS 4041, Controversies in Science, Technology and Medicine, with Professor Owen Marshall. It was one of my first true seminar classes, which is a format that I came to love. My friends would laugh and say that I was essentially taking a class on conspiracy theories, but it helped shape my future trajectory. As part of the class, we worked on a semester-long research paper on a scientific or technical controversy. I ended up writing mine on Havana Syndrome, which led to research interests around uncertainty and technology that I plan to pursue in graduate school.
What is your main extracurricular activity and why is it important to you?
I grew up alpine ski racing but left the sport in high school due to time constraints. Joining the Cornell Ski Team helped me rediscover the joy of skiing and racing. I loved being able to return to the sport in a lower pressure environment where the focus was on having fun and competing as a team. It was great to go to class and then jump in someone’s car and go to Greek Peak and run gates for a few hours before coming back for dinner. The movement and camaraderie cleared my head and left me ready to tackle whatever projects and homework the night held. My senior year our team qualified for the U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard National Championships. It was an amazing experience to represent Cornell and join student athletes from 140 other universities. The women’s team placed third in ski cross, the best we have ever done.
What are the most valuable skills you gained from your Arts & Sciences education?
The most valuable skill I gained from my Arts & Sciences education sounds deceptively simple but is in fact far from it: I learned how to think. I firmly believe that the purpose of undergraduate education is not to learn a collection of facts but rather to learn how to critically analyze questions, hold competing viewpoints, question prevailing beliefs, tackle intricate problems and discover your place in the world. As I walk away from my time at Cornell, I may not remember every piece of information my professors taught me, but I trust my ability to sit with ambiguity and effectively address complex situations.
Additionally, Cornell taught me how to write. I will be forever thankful to Professor Suman Seth, whose classes and advising through independent study taught me the writing skills that I will personally and professionally benefit from the rest of my life. Entering Cornell, I was not a confident writer, but the instruction and encouragement I received resulted in significant growth and shaped the writer and scholar I am today.
What have you accomplished as a Cornell student that you are most proud of?
I am most proud of my senior thesis, which explores how a controversial mental health treatment has been shaped by the economic realities of health care in the U.S. Over the course of 75 pages, I argue that our current understanding of the privatization of science fails to capture what happens in the mental health field. The project was a significant undertaking and at times I thought it was going to fail, but it ultimately taught me so much. Prior to my thesis, the longest paper I had ever written was around 20 pages, so making the jump to longer-form writing was difficult but rewarding. I also learned that I enjoy qualitative interviewing, which was something I did not expect and in turn influenced my approach to future research projects.
Who or what influenced your Cornell education the most?
From my peers in discussion to my professors and TAs helping in office hours, the entire Cornell community has positively influenced my education. The opportunity to follow burgeoning interests and take a wide range of classes, from rock climbing to Arabic to causal inference, has made my education meaningful, varied and interesting. These classroom experiences were supported through internships, where I gained hands-on experience of how public policy operates and interacts with emerging technologies and international relations. Discovering ways that seemingly disparate subjects come together and apply in practical settings has been one of my favorite experiences.
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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