Rachel Rosenberg ’20 and Grace Mehler ’20 sat in the Temple of Zeus June 6, enjoying a hot drink and jumping up to hug classmates arriving for their five-year reunion.
It was a time for remembering late-night conversations, talking through big life decisions and celebrating the enduring friendship they’ve shared since freshmen orientation. Despite the challenges of COVID, it’s clear the bond is strong between these two, as well as between other members of the class of 2020.
“We all studied very different things and were involved in totally different clubs, but we’re all still so close,” Mehler said.
These days, Rosenberg is in New York City, working in the marketing department for Deloitte’s AI & Engineering team. Mehler just finished her second year at Harvard Law School.
They grab each other’s hands as they remember meeting as first-year students – Rosenberg’s high school friend was randomly assigned as Mehler’s roommate. Six good friends lived together sophomore year and then the group ether lived — or spent most of their time — together for the rest of their Cornell days.
Even in the post-graduate phase, the group of six is very much in touch. They’ve celebrated new apartments together and went camping recently in Montana, where one member of the group lives. They have another reunion planned at the end of July in New York City. One of the six even set up Mehler with her current long-term boyfriend.
“Now we’re in a different phase of life, but I continue to rely on my closest Cornell friends to navigate this part of my life,” Mehler said. “We make it a priority.”
As undergrads, Rosenberg remembers watching Mehler fall in love with public interest work. “And now you’re not just doing research on public interest law, you’re defending someone,” Rosenberg said.
At the same time, Mehler watched Rosenberg blossom as an English major at Cornell and now a marketing guru.
Both of them took advantage of Cornell resources as undergrads and still do as young alumni.
“I went to A&S summer networking events and met two managing directors at Morgan Stanley who I kept in touch with,” said Mehler, who studied government at Cornell and worked at Morgan Stanley for three years before starting law school. “I also reached out to a bunch of Cornell alums on LinkedIn, and they’ve been so helpful to me in learning about networking and advancing in my career.”
Rosenberg also attended those networking events, set up by Arts & Sciences Career Development and the College’s Alumni Affairs & Development offices.
“Now I’ve come full circle because one of those College events over winter break was held in 30Rock, the office building where I now work,” she said. “Those events were so helpful in meeting other people in the marketing world and learning that they didn’t all have communication degrees.”
Rosenberg started at Cornell in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences studying environmental & sustainability sciences and communications, but gravitated toward English classes after her first-year writing seminar and completing an English minor. The switch to A&S wasn’t difficult, she said, because of support from advisors in both schools. She ended up graduating from A&S with a degree in English Literature, working on an honors thesis with Professor Samantha Zacher (A&S).
She continued to be involved with communication clubs and classes and credit those for some of her acumen in public speaking. She’s also grateful to the diverse group of people – both students and faculty – she was able to work with at Cornell. “A big part of my marketing job is relationship management and at Cornell I met people who came from such different backgrounds,” Rosenberg said. “I came out of Cornell with experience working in group settings and a much broader worldview.”
Mehler was drawn to the government major through her classes. Three impactful courses with government Associate Professor Jamila Michener (A&S), combined with membership in a Cornell pre-law club and a volunteer experience working with teenagers near Ithaca who were incarcerated, lit the fire for her to pursue public interest law. She also worked as a research assistant with Professor Joseph Margulies, professor of the practice in government, on his book "Thanks for Everything, Now Get Out."
After graduation, she studied for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) while working and she reached out to alums of the pre-law club, as well as Diane Miller in the A&S Career Development Center, to help her prepare for the test and law school applications.
“I credit Cornell for cultivating my interest in public interest law and giving me the tools to pursue it,” Mehler said. “I felt very prepared coming from Cornell. And I am so grateful to my mentors at Cornell — including older students and Professors Michener and Margulies.”
Thinking back to college, Rosenberg said she’s glad she trusted her intuition and switched majors. But she wishes she had participated in more clubs and activities in addition to Cornell Concert Commission. She’d advise new students to take advantage of the organized campus communities Cornell has to offer. “I was a bit of a nerd and very focused on my grades, but academics aren’t everything.”
Mehler urged new students to try classes just because they sound interesting. A class on human bonding, for instance, is one she uses to this day, but certainly not part of the government major. She also encouraged first-year students not to worry if they don’t find their community right away; it will come in time.
“College is a huge transition, being on your own for the first time,” Mehler said. “Everyone arrives with their own unique background and with their own unique challenges. But it’s a beautiful thing to share what you’re struggling with and to feel so cared about in a place where everyone is really new.”
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