What the Cornell Humphrey Program director Peter Gregory and I have in common is we both love quotes! Quotes put words to our unexplainable fears, inspire us to stand up for ourselves and take risks, and open our eyes to the struggles we share with our neighbors.
Quotes also define the Cornell Humphrey Program. When COVID-19 stripped the Humphrey Fellowship Year in half, our program team had a hard time cramming 10 months into 5. But what I found helped us help the Fellows manage their time was publish a weekly one-stop-shop newsletter. Much to my chagrin, we named it “Fran’s Friday Fragments.” Soon enough, quotes became one of the newsletter’s mainstays.
Each week, I asked one Humphrey Fellow or staff member to share words that motivated them. Some chose quotes that had led them toward their journey of public service; others selected words defining their day-to-day struggles in Ithaca. Yet each expression was poignant and thematic for this Fellowship Year.
I hope you enjoy these quotes as much as the Fellows did when they shared them.
