Hear from this year’s scholars about their research, Nexus scholar perks and what it’s like to spend the summer in gorgeous Ithaca.
Opening doors outside of academia
Nexus Scholars Basil Bob ’27 & Morgan Perlstein ‘27, both English and government double majors, talk about their English literature research this summer. “Ithaca over the summer has been a great experience. I’ve gotten to meet a lot of interesting, amazing people.” And Nexus Scholar Kathy Lim ’28, an information science and economics double major, shares how she used machine learning to study Alzheimer’s disease. “All of the professional development events were a great way to explore careers in academia or outside of academia.”
The Nexus Scholars Program offers students a summer research experience on campus, as well as professional development workshops, career exploration events, and the chance to be part of a cohort from throughout the college who are passionate about learning.
Exploring the process of research
Giuliana Keeth ’26, a comparative literature and Spanish double major, worked over the summer to develop a Latino poetry anthology. “I’ve read a lot of other anthologies to learn more about the Latino poetry scene …and have been going through newspaper databases to find newspapers that may have had poetry in them.”
Diane Ting ’28, a biological sciences major, studied Legionella infection in the Yuxin Mao lab. “It’s been interesting seeing the inner workings of research and how science starts and ends.”
Gain diverse skills toward enriching careers
Salimata Cisse ’26, an American studies major, studied how some democracies throughout the world have slid backwards toward autocracy. “The Nexus Scholars Program helped me learn how to leverage my research skills toward a career.”
Jerry Lu ’28, a biological sciences and chemistry double major, studied the Spanish flu epidemic in America. “In addition to all of the clinical and wet lab opportunities Cornell provides, Nexus Scholars has allowed me to take a unique spin and explore the more diverse areas of medicine.”
Jose Jimenez ’26, a biological sciences major, did a summer research project focused on cricket reproduction. “Not only has the Nexus Scholars Program provided me with the ability to house myself over the summer, it also has given me the research intuition to conduct my own future research.”
Jean Hyun Kim ’27, a psychology major, spent his summer in Prof. Vivian Zayas’ Person and Context lab studying people’s perception of social exclusion. “I received consistent and constructive feedback from the various programs within the Nexus Scholars Program, but also through one-on-one meetings with my mentor.”
Luca Pavlovich ’27, an economics major, studied how active learning has been implemented at Cornell and how moving away from lecture-based presentations has impacted student outcomes. “It’s been great seeing the research process and what it takes to conduct thorough, ethical research.”
Addison Morgenstern ’28, a history of art major, has been researching U.S. women activists from the 19th century. “I’ll be going to a conference in the fall to meet other people working on the same area of scholarship.”