Celebrating the CALS class of 2026

Hometown: Severn, Maryland

Major: Global Development

Minors: Inequality Studies, Law & Society

What does being a Cornellian mean to you?
Being a Cornellian means being driven by ambition and purpose. I am constantly surrounded by Cornellians who strive for excellence in their goals with an ambition that encourages me to also work hard. This ambition that Cornellians have is often fueled by intentional and purpose-rooted goals. Therefore, I have been consistently motivated by my peers to aspire every day to help make the world a better place.

Hometown: Larchmont, New York

Major: Biometry & Statistics

What surprised you the most about your Cornell CALS experience?
How many different facets of the available coursework appealed to me, whether it was the study of biological statistics, business law or honeybees! CALS had just about everything I needed.

Hometown: Norman, Oklahoma

Major: Plant Sciences

What is your most memorable undergraduate research moment?
After a few years of convincing myself research wasn’t for me, I learned of Professor Aaron Sexton’s work in urban ecology and joined his lab studying wildfire response in New York City parks. I soon found myself in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, conducting plant surveys in a recently burned area. It was there in the field, identifying plants of all origins, surrounded by urban jungle and people from all walks of life, that I found a clear sense of purpose: to understand how plant communities assemble and to use that knowledge to support restoration in human-shaped environments. Had I shut the door on research, I would have missed out on this transformative experience and storytelling of natural history.

Hometown: Natick, Massachusetts

Major: Nutritional Sciences

What does being a Cornellian mean to you?
To me, being a Cornellian means being a part of something bigger than myself – whether it’s the nutritional science department, my rugby team or my lab. Throughout the last four years, I have found a sense of how I want to contribute to my field and the world around me. That sense of responsibility to the people around me is what I’ll take with me when I leave.

Hometown: Dallas, Texas

Major: Biological Sciences

Minor: American Indian and Indigenous Studies

What will you miss the most about Cornell?
I will miss the friends and mentors I’ve made throughout my time here the most. Transitioning to life and academics at Cornell was a challenge, but it was the people I met during my first year here that truly changed my experience. Whether it was spending late nights studying for chemistry exams, working together to take care of the raptors in the Cornell Raptor Program or just chatting in the Office of Undergraduate Biology, these moments have made my Cornell experience something I will never forget.

Hometown: Montvale, Virginia

Major: Agricultural Sciences

Minor: Anthropology

What are your post-grad plans?
I'll be a research assistant at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in Roanoke, Virginia, working in addiction recovery, with a focus on the abuse of alcohol, cocaine and nicotine among various populations. I will also work at a behavioral health center in the psychiatric department as I continue to pursue a career in rural mental health. While working these jobs, I will be completing the remaining pre-recs needed for medical school, before taking the MCAT. I hope to become a rural psychiatrist, specifically working in farming communities to provide mental health care, while serving as an advocate for improved farmer health.

Hometown: Park Ridge, Illinois

Major: Environment & Sustainability

Minor: Law & Society and Inequality Studies

What is your most memorable undergraduate moment?
A very memorable moment for me was developing and teaching a 1.5 credit course called ENVS 2002: Sustainability in Athletics this past fall. With the support from my advisor and numerous professors, as well as the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement, my team was able to successfully launch the course and had over two dozen students enrolled. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to intersect my passion for sustainability and sports, as well engage other students and the community in such a niche field of study.

Hometown: Queens, New York

Major: Animal Science

Minor: Infectious Disease

What surprised you the most about your Cornell CALS experience?
You would think that because “agriculture” is in CALS, I would have understood its full scope. But honestly, I didn’t realize how diverse it is – agriculture is a spectrum. Coming from NYC, my exposure was mainly urban agriculture. Now, I understand it on both national and global levels. In high school, I assumed I would just garden and care for animals, which is partly true. However, I also explored fields like parasitology and biosecurity, gaining a more interdisciplinary view of agriculture and its broader impact. 

Hometown: Wayzata, Minnesota

Major: Landscape Architecture

Concentrations: Design Representation and Digital Media Communication

What surprised you the most about your Cornell CALS experience?
Working with Jamie Vanucchi to research mercury pollution in Syracuse’s Onondaga Lake – once considered the most polluted lake in the United States. We mapped relationships between key actors, including mercury as landscape matter, affected species across trophic levels, and the public, using layered spatial and temporal representations. This work revealed ongoing risks despite significant remediation and led to a proposal for an aquatic biology field station to support long-term stewardship. Through this experience, I developed a strong interest in using landscape architecture to engage wicked environmental challenges.