Ethan Gumataotao
Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Asan, Guam
What is your main extracurricular activity and why is it important to you?
I serve as the director of the Policy & Advocacy initiative for Chålan Åmte, a community of medical students, residents and health professionals from the Pacific Islands dedicated to improving healthcare education and workforce capacity in our region. Our group was founded on my home island of Guam, and our name, Chålan Åmte, comes from CHamoru, the indigenous language of the Mariana Islands. It means “Pathway to Healing.”
As Pacific Islanders, we carry a long history of voyaging. Our ancestors thousands of years ago crossed vast oceans in search of a better life. Today, our mission is to honor that legacy by journeying away from home to pursue education and training, with the ultimate goal of returning to serve the communities that raised us. Through our Policy & Advocacy initiative, we’ve conducted research on Guam’s most pressing healthcare challenges and worked to develop policy solutions. We’ve engaged directly with public health officials, policy experts and lawmakers to advocate for reforms in areas such as Medicaid, community health centers and workforce development.
This work is incredibly meaningful to me because it has allowed me to make a tangible impact on my community — even from thousands of miles away at Cornell. Instead of waiting until after my education and training are complete, I’ve been able to serve Guam now, from my college dorm room. It’s been a way to stay connected to home, to give back in real time and to be part of a collective effort to build a healthier, more equitable future for the Pacific.
What are the most valuable skills you gained from your Arts & Sciences education?
The most valuable skill I gained from my Arts & Sciences education is the ability to truly learn — especially how to learn under pressure. As someone preparing to attend medical school and ultimately become a physician serving my community back home, I know the road ahead will be long and demanding. The process often feels like drinking from a fire hydrant with the sheer volume of knowledge that must be absorbed and applied.
But my time in Arts & Sciences has given me more than just content knowledge, it has taught me how to think critically, adapt quickly and rise to meet academic challenges. The rigor of my coursework, the diversity of perspectives I engaged with, and the independence I was encouraged to develop have all given me the confidence to take on whatever lies ahead. More than anything, I’ve learned how to learn, and that’s a skill I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.
What have you accomplished as a Cornell student that you are most proud of?
One of my proudest accomplishments at Cornell has been working as a teaching assistant for general chemistry (CHEM 2070) for three out of my four years. As a first-generation college student, I arrived at Cornell with very little understanding of the expectations and rigor of higher education. In high school, I only took AP chemistry because my friends were in the class, and I struggled tremendously —eventually scoring a one on the exam. Chemistry was a subject I thought I wasn’t cut out for.
That changed when I participated in Cornell’s Pre-Freshman Summer Program (PSP), a two-month initiative designed to prepare students like myself to thrive in college. I spent that summer learning from Professor Stephen Lee, who introduced math and chemistry not as barriers to overcome, but as beautiful, logical systems to explore. For the first time, chemistry felt intuitive; solving problems became as satisfying as finishing a puzzle. I later took CHEM 2070 with Professor Lee, and it was during his lectures on thermodynamics, where just three variables could describe all processes in the universe, that I fell completely in love with the subject and committed to majoring in chemistry.
I went on to work with Professor Lee as a TA for two semesters, and later served in that role for multiple years. Because I once stood exactly where many of my students stood — overwhelmed and uncertain — I was able to meet them with empathy and support. My background, building my understanding of chemistry from the ground up, gave me a unique ability to connect with students who were struggling. Helping them navigate that same challenge and watching them succeed was deeply fulfilling. In many ways, it felt like I was paying forward the kindness, patience and belief that my own teachers showed me.
As I prepare to graduate, I reflect on how far I’ve come — from being completely lost in high school chemistry in Guam to becoming someone who now teaches and mentors others in one of Cornell’s most challenging introductory STEM courses. This journey has been one of the most meaningful parts of my Cornell experience, and it has shaped my passion for teaching, mentorship and making science more accessible to others.
How have your beliefs or perspectives changed since you first arrived at Cornell?
Coming to Cornell was a leap both literally and figuratively. Neither of my parents had attended college, and it was my first time living in the continental U.S., thousands of miles away from Guam. I arrived on the East Coast knowing no one and without any family nearby. At a place like Cornell, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students like myself often make up less than 1% of the student body. I rarely saw others who looked like me or came from the places I call home.
In the beginning, I believed that I had to change in order to fit in — that I needed to mold myself to look, speak or think like those around me in order to be accepted. But over time, I discovered that my uniqueness was not something to hide, it was one of my greatest strengths. In every space I entered, I brought with me a distinct worldview, shaped by my upbringing and community, and I quickly realized that those perspectives were not only welcomed, but deeply valued.
The values I was raised on of respect, humility and service have been my guiding principles throughout my time at Cornell. Staying rooted in who I am and where I come from has brought me the most meaningful connections and the greatest success. I've learned that I don't have to shed my identity to thrive in elite spaces; instead, I thrive because of it.
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 2025.
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