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Discover CALS

See how our current work and research is bringing new thinking and new solutions to some of today's biggest challenges.

Meet CALS Ambassadors

CALS Ambassadors are dedicated student leaders who represent our diverse undergraduate student community. The group spotlighted here, along with their 60+ fellow Ambassadors, come from a variety of backgrounds and study across CALS academic disciplines. Their goal is to share genuine perspective on their Cornell CALS student experiences.

Girl smiling

I love CALS, period. CALS allows students to partake and be themselves when it comes to academics. Students are allowed to decide what they want to be, and CALS, with the advisors' help, directs students on that path. CALS provides students with tutoring, flexibility, and hands-on learning approaches such as research, community service opportunities, etc. I love CALS!

Guy smiling

I am a motivated first generation student who is driven towards gaining an education in the field of biology. I am someone who is always determined to create a difference in any setting, whether that be in lecture or in a study session with friends. I always try to lighten up the mood and not always take everything so seriously.

Girl smiling in front of water

Volunteering as a CALS Ambassador and Diversity Admissions Ambassador gives me the experience to understand young peoples' struggles and find ways to connect them to resources that will promote their success through social and economic mobility.

Girl standing with volleyball

I am a great fit for CALS due to my interest in many subjects including archaeology and economics, my thirst for knowledge, my love for the natural world, and on top of all that, my environmental awareness aligns with the eco-friendly mission of Cornell's energy plan.

Boy smiling holding a chic

CALS was a great fit because two of its main components, finance and life sciences, are subjects of great interest to me. Additionally, I was always attracted to the down to earth nature of the students I met while applying.

Girl smiling next to a horse

The partnerships made between MASS (Minority Animal Science Students) and the Cornell Vet School has given me meaningful insights into how to prepare for vet school and what that experience would look like.

Boy smiling

CALS is both a welcoming and tight-knit community of students with various interests but share a common goal of loving to learn. The hands-on learning that is encouraged in CALS fuels my growth and the ability to explore interests outside of my major complements my passion for learning.

Girl in snow

CALS is a great fit for me because it offers me a smaller program for environmental engineering that will help me to make stronger relationships with my professors and other students.

Girl holding a bird

I love being part of the cooperative atmosphere that is present in CALS. The people I have met here and I know how to lift each other up and work together in a way that makes us all better students.

Boy standing and smiling

I love that CALS is committed to a more sustainable and cleaner environment. Their leadership in contributing to carbon neutrality by 2035 shows that the school is empowering grass root change in global-scale problems.

Girl smiling

CALS is, in all honesty, a family. Walking onto the Ag Quad, I feel a sense of home, an area of peace amidst the chaos all around campus. In addition, I really love how entering with an intended major allows you to hit the ground running on day one and learn about your passions right away. Finally, through the academic requirements in CALS, I am encouraged to take classes in all different disciplines, all grounded in the contribution to the Life Sciences and humanity.

Girl holding a bug and smiling

A huge academic highlight for me was becoming a TA for CHEM 2070. This was a class that was challenging for me when I took it, and I find that it's very rewarding to help students that get hung up on the same issues I had when I learned the content for the first time. I'm a big proponent of "see one, do one, teach one" and I find that teaching the content of this course has allowed me to understand it on a much deeper level.

Boy sitting on a rock

The world-class professors, research, and small community within Plant Sciences means that I will always have support in whatever direction I choose to go, and the breadth of majors within just CALS itself means I get to take classes and interact with people of all kinds of backgrounds and futures!

Girl smiling

CALS is all about hands-on and practical learning. I knew CALS was the right fit for me when I got my first summer job in the industry and realized how much my first year of classes was applicable in the real world.

Boy sitting on a fence outside

CALS is a great fit for me because I love how the College provides a tight-knit major in Agricultural Sciences, but all of my courses have students from across CALS. CALS also gives me so much freedom to explore subjects outside of the natural sciences.