Hotelie-On-the-Go

All of my years at Cornell have led up to this moment:  I am officially a Cornell alumnus! Now that I’m past graduation weekend, I cannot really accurately describe the feeling — sort of a mixture of pride, anticipation, sadness, and excitement rolled up into one frazzled little ball of emotion.  Coming out of senior week and graduation, I can honestly say that the end of this semester was one of the craziest yet — and for good reason.

As many of you know, graduation was this past Sunday — May 29th — and we started off on the Arts Quad, gathered by schools, to march as one big moving Class of 2011 mosh pit to Schoellkopf Stadium to start at 11am.  Aside from just killing time with Hotelies (which you can see in pictures below), the heat was unrelenting.  It had to have been around 90 degrees for the majority of the day, and with that black graduation robe and fancy dress-up clothes under it, I was sweating like I was a literally being cooked alive.  Yay Ithaca (again!)!

Heading over to the stadium — in our graduation attire, marching as almost-alums — was a surreal experience unlike any other, which I honestly wasn’t expecting.  Along the entire way, there were professors, staff, students, families, etc., all clapping for us, and that was the first time I think it really sunk in — like, “wow, I’m really ending this thing soon, aren’t I?”  And just realizing all of the people I’d met over the years — the hundreds of close friends, familiar faces, and relived experiences, all passing by in a matter of minutes on that simple stroll to Schoellkopf.  Amazing.

After Skorton gave us the nice “go-ahead” for our diplomas — which, by the way, the Hotelies were by far the loudest at, of course — we headed straight over to Barton for the Hotelie-only ceremony where we walked to get our diplomas.  This was probably my favorite part of the day because let’s face it:  I spent the entirety of my four years here with Hotelies, and I thought it was very fitting to go out that way as well.  Meeting my family after hearing Dean Carvell say “Evan Carr, with distinction!” as I walked across to shake Dean Johnson’s hand was a fulfilling, yet oddly sinking few seconds; you realize that you have finally defeated Cornell, but when you walk past that last handshake, you’re into “adulthood” (whatever that means), and you’re losing that warm-and-fuzzy Big Red security blanket.

So that’s the bulk of it — after that, my brother, mother, and father joined me for an afternoon graduation reception at Llenroc for the seniors, which was a great way to unwind before dinner at Rulloff’s.  And that’s that.  That’s that.

You know, the aura around Cornell is something that is truly unique and unbelievable.   After graduating high school, I never thought that I would meet such a fascinating compilation of individuals, an incessantly brilliant faculty (across many different schools, not just the Hotel School), and a culture that mixes fun and eccentric better than any other college campus in America.  With life on the hill, you can always write about what’s happening — but you will never encapsulate the full experience unless you are here.  Connections — with the people, with the campus, and with the history — are what make Cornell so tremendously rewarding and satisfying.

With this being my final post, I feel it is necessary and appropriate to thank those people that made my Cornell experience one that is so difficult for me to walk away from.  First and foremost, my family:  My brother, Ryan, for adding levity to any situation and being the seed of competition and support that pushed me far past any boundary that I thought contained me.  My mother, JoAnna, for being the unrelenting optimist that saw the positive in anything.  And my father, Jeffery, for giving me stability and practical advice whenever I sought it.  Also, I have to thank all of my brothers in the Delta Phi (Llenroc) fraternity for an incredible past few years:  The Llenroc experiences that I will remember — far past my graduation on Sunday — are some of the fondest that I’m sure I will ever have.  You are all great friends and great people, and I’m already looking forward to returning to the house to have a casual conversation and a cold beer with all of you on the roof of Llenroc.

Moreover, how can I forget Hotelies!  Now that I’m pursuing an Experimental Psych PhD at UC San Diego, I often get questions like, “why were you a Hotelie?” and “didn’t you wish you switched?”  I’d be lying if I said that I was certain that I was in the right place throughout my whole time here.  In fact, at certain points, I was one signature away from leaving my Hotelie status for something else.  But looking back on it, the Hotel School is what exposed me to psychology through business, what motivated me to pursue how my business interests related to other fields, and what allowed me access to so many great friends and faculty.  So in short, I couldn’t be happier with how things worked out, and I wouldn’t change a thing.  Just goes to show that the Cornell doors really can fly open anywhere — you just have to be the one to turn the knob.

And last but certainly not least, thank you to Lisa for letting me have this blog for my years here at Cornell.  Having a voice on campus has been incredibly valuable for me, and I’m so happy that I have a chronicle that I can look back on now that I’m leaving — the ups and the downs.  You were an amazing mentor and an overall fun person to be around.  Please keep in touch.

With that, I leave you with one final piece of advice:  Cherish the friends and the social experiences that you will have at Cornell.  The academic pedigree of Cornell is what you come for at the start, but I guarantee that you will leave here with much more than a diploma.  You will have friends that make you laugh, pictures that make you cry, and thoughts that fill your heart  with joy.  So if you’re depressed about all of the studying or get a bad grade on a prelim, realize it’s not a big deal in the overall picture of your college experience.  Realize, instead, that even though your time on the hill may be limited, the positive memories that you will build and carry with you can (and should) be timeless.

Goodbye and good luck, Cornell.  I loved every second of it.

~ Evan

Lots and lots has been happening since my last post — almost too much to keep track.  We’ll start with the good news, though; it looks like I will have a choice between PhD programs (*phew*) since I seemed to have somehow tricked these programs into taking me.  Yes yes, I am sneaky like that.  UCLA Anderson School of Management and USC Marshall Business School are the two latest acceptances (along with UC San Diego Psychology from before) that I can add to my tally, and it’s a fantastic feeling knowing that I have places aside from where a single acceptance would force me to go (and not that I know where I’m going at all yet, but yeah, options are good)…

Next, well, there’s always some kinda bad in Ithaca — and you could probably guess it’s due to the weather.  I don’t really remember the weather being this much of an issue in the 3 past winters I’ve trudged through, as this one seems to be a special kind of ridiculous.  The other day, I saw a pickup truck do a 360-spin right in the middle of the intersection near Campus Ave, and it just kept driving like nothing happened.   Now that’s Ithaca conditioning for you.  I know it might be a product of me being from upstate NY my whole life, but once you get over the “oh, that snow looks so awesome” phase, it seems to take me less and less time every year to get to the “I hate ice, sleet, snow, outside … and wtf happened to my coffee?!” phase.

But most importantly (and tragically), Cornell has lost another student to unfortunate and avoidable circumstances.  George Desdunes ’13 — from all accounts that I’ve heard — was an incredible person, and I find it sad that these deaths still find their way onto our campus and into the happy-go-lucky college student life that so many of us take for granted at Cornell.  The fact that the Cornell community continues to have to “reboot” itself after mourning is trying for so many, and the stress on the friends and families of these individuals seems incomprehensible for me to imagine myself enduring.  George was a fellow brother in the Greek fraternity system — a brother in SAE — so it hits especially close to home.  My best wishes go out to the friends and family of George; I only hope the strength of the bonds that he created at home and at Cornell can honor how good of a person it sounds like he was.

Sorry that it’s been a bit since my last post, but the last couple weeks have been a whirlwind.  With PhD interviews, frat stuff, and oh yeah, classes, I’ve barely had a chance to bathe, let alone think about anything else.   In the last 2 weeks, I’ve flown back and forth to UC San Diego, University of Michigan, and I’ve had 2 phone interviews with other PhD programs.  Crazy times all the time it seems now.

Nevertheless, good news is *finally* rolling in!  I found out that I was admitted to the UC San Diego Psychology PhD this week, which is a fantastic program, so I’m very excited.

I will hopefully hear back from the University of Michigan Social Psychology PhD program this week on what my status is, so that wait will definitely be outright mental torture.  But I’m just glad I’m getting news back from places I applied (waitlisted at a couple of other places; other updates to come, I hope).

The insane thing about this semester so far — and this is probably not good to say — is how little attention I’ve been paying to my courses.  Like … none.  Notta.  Zilch.  Since I just finished interviews, I’ve just realized how behind I am, and I’m definitely in *holy crap, I’m screwed* mode.  Senioritis is the best medicine, though.  Takes the edge off for sure .

Here it is:  my last semester.  Um … holy crap! The cliche is definitely there, but I just really can’t believe that I’m a second-semester senior and that I’m almost at the finish line.  The sheer thought and reality that this is my eighth time starting a new set of classes is just downright baffling — and a little frightening.

Here I am, though, nearing that finish line — and I plan to do so with a bang.  This semester will not be a cake-walk for me for sure.  My main concern right now is getting into a PhD program, a couple of which I have to travel for multiple-day interviews in February which, needless to say, makes me somewhat nauseated just to think about interviews that last days.  And wouldn’t you know it — some interesting classes this semester!  I guess one of the jumbo benefits of being a second-semester senior is the freedom in your course selection, so I have quite a heavy PSYCH load coming my way (psychopathology, psych of emotion, human growth and development, research, etc.).

With all that said, I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was bittersweet.  I love this place.  It’s cold, uninviting, and some people joke that it sucks the motivation right outta ya (which tends to happen after repetitive failure).  But Cornell is a tremendous place of growth, and looking back on my first day of freshman year, I am astounded at how much I’ve changed as both a person and student.  I’m sad and happy, scared and excited, and realistically optimistic.

So without any further or do:  My last act.  Should be a fun ride.

I never thought that semesters could go by any quicker, but senior year has somehow upped the already warp-speed pace of this place a few notches.  I honestly have no idea where the time has gone, and it’s crazy that I’m almost to the point where I’m staring into the eyes of the recurring nightmare that is finals week that is coming up in a mere couple weeks.  Unreal, I say.

Nevertheless, along with all of the fun, stress, and sleeplessness that coincides with senior year, I realize that now is the time to provide some updates about what the heck I am actually doing with myself now that I’m getting to the end of my time at Cornell.  So, off we go …

What I’m Doing Now — Here’s the skinny:  I’m currently applying to PhD programs in Management (mostly stuff related to social psychology and business) to enter into after I leave the hill (well, ideally).  Definitely not the common path out of the Hotel School, but I am very interested in the idea of teaching and becoming a professor someday.  The only “rub” is the application process — it’s soooooooo long.  I’m almost done actually submitting the applications (finally!), but the next steps will be waiting to hear about interviews and open houses in late January and early February, and I won’t even start to get admission letters until mid-March.  So, the abridged version of what I’m saying is that I’m applying to PhD’s, and I will be dealing with it for awhile, so this won’t be the last time you hear of it.

What I Hope to Be Doing Later — PhD’s, really?  Already?  Well … yeah.  I’m applying now because I want to give myself the opportunity to go that route if it seems like the best fit.  I am also applying to more “normal” Hotelie jobs — i.e., mostly stuff that has to do with either restaurants or marketing because that is of the most interest to me — so, really, it just depends on how the cards fall in the coming months.  As a Hotelie, I would still love to work with a restaurant group or something, so we’ll see what happens with those interviews.  And if we’re really dreaming “big,” any chance I could do both (i.e., be a professor and own a restaurant on the side or something)?  I don’t know, as you can probably tell.  Not to worry though:  Those “cards” will be in the next few posts — updates soon (assuming senioritis doesn’t claim any more of my time )!!!

So we’re back.  Senior Year. Classes are finally settled (only a few days before the add deadline, so I have the Hotel School registrar sufficiently frazzled), and the rhythm of the day-to-day humdrum is starting to feel at least somewhat normal again:  Even though — and I have no idea how this happened to me in my senior year — I have 8:40am classes Monday through Thursday.  ’Tis a little bit strange when you walk out of your C-town apartment at 8:15am, and the only signs of life you see are a mob of squirrels battling over a nasty old sandwich in the middle of a dead silent intersection.

But hey, I’m older, wiser (so they tell me), and amped to get this new year underway.  Class-wise, I am finishing up (most of) my Hotel School core requirements — finally — along with taking a couple PSYCH courses and doing 2 psychology research labs.  18 credits overall, so not too terrible, but it ain’t that light of a semester either (in case you didn’t notice, I’m not finishing ALL of my degree requirements this semester, ergo not graduating early.  But that’s another post for later ) …

HADM 3301 Service Operations Management

HADM 4441 Strategic Management

PSYCH 1101 Introduction to Psychology

PSYCH 3800 Social Cognition

HD 4010 Empirical Research

PSYCH 4700 Undergraduate Research in Psychology

So aside from getting classes worked out — which I’m pretty used to at this point — I’ve also been fielding quite a few of those senior-related “what are you going to do with your life?” questions from … well … EVERYONE.  And honestly, I thought I would have a more concrete idea set by now, like “I have x job lined up to start on y date, and I’ll be making millions of dollars.”  You know.  But I have decided that I will be applying for graduate school programs to start in Fall 2011, and my backup plan will be going into the real world (if I have to.  Ick.)

More details on programs and such to come, but right now, my focus is solely on the GRE, which I have to take on (holy crap) October 11th.

Therefore, in honor of the ridiculous and incredibly annoying vocabulary that I need to know for this test, I will sign off this post by saying “have a sublime evening, and live like a venerable paragon in bucolic pastures.”

Boom.  That just happened.

Welcome back!  Can’t believe the summer flew by that quickly, but I am finally back in the swing of classes, and it feels great to settle into a routine schedule again.  Soooooooooo let me give you a short little recap …

Where I’ve Been

PhoCusWright was a very interesting internship; like I said before, it was a remote internship, so I was living in Llenroc over the summer and receiving all of my assignments, communicating, doing webinars, etc., electronically (then just travelling to the NYC office every couple weeks).  Definitely one of the most flexible, data-intense, Excel-filled adventures that I’ve had so far, but the people were great (and I made some mad moo-lah).  No complaints!

Where I’m Going

My senior (!!!) final schedule is allllllmost set, but things are still a bit up in the air right now.  For the first time ever, I’m not living on north campus this year since I left the RA position, so I’m actually living in C-Town to fulfill my role as a debaucherous, irresponsible (yet wise, of course) college senior.

And, officially, I have joined a second psychology research lab, which should be a nice little sometin’-sometin’ for grad school applications.  But more on that later.

More details and updates to come!

Just like that:  My junior year has come to a close.  3 years gone by, 1 to go, and I’m sure the feeling is going to be even more surreal in the fall when I am among the oldest (and the wisest?) students on the Cornell campus.  In reality, I only have one semester of actual study left, and then I’ll just be bummin’ around Ithaca I guess in the spring since I will be graduated and will basically just be working and waiting to walk in May with everyone else.

But now that Senior Week and graduation has passed — and we have said a farewell to the lovely people of the Class of 2010 — I have my summer position as a Market Research Intern with PhoCusWright starting on Tuesday, for which I will be catching a 1:15am (!!!!!!!) bus into NYC  for the first day.  Yes, it’s early.  Holy crap is that early.  But I am really banking on the hope that I will be able to get some shut-eye on the bus because my body is definitely not conditioned at this point to go to sleep that early or be productive in the mornings at all.

PhoCusWright seems like a really great company, so if you’re interested, check them out on the internet.  They do lots of cool research on the travel industry with all its nuances, and I really think that my summer will be interesting and enjoyable.  More updates to come.

CONGRATS TO THE CLASS OF 2010!!!

Well, if this whole graduating-a-semester-early thing works out, I’ve officially done my last CourseEnroll at Cornell and the Hotel School … ever.  What?  Yeah, I still don’t completely understand it — where the time has gone, how I’m so old, and the sheer horror at the thought that I might have to go out into the real world in a little bit (apparently there is one outside of Ithaca somewhere).

It is funny though:  The Yoda-like seniority I feel when I walk around North Campus seems like it came to me over-night.  Freshmen hear that I’m going to be a senior next year, and their little naive eyes widen a bit while they try to wrap their heads around the fact that I’ve been at Cornell for almost three years now and have not gone insane.  Not really sure if that look is more admiration or fear, but I’m going to go with the former for now.

But anyways, here’s my (last?) preliminary schedule.  Looks like it’ll be a heavy one (18 credits/6 classes) because I’m a glutton for punishment and will try to finish up the Real Estate minor this semester that is offered in the Hotel School.  Here you go … HADM 3301 Service Operations Management, HADM 3355 Hospitality Facilities Management (I will be a wizard of the toilet sciences.  Wish I was kidding.), HADM 4441 Strategic Management, HADM 4423 Hospitality Real Estate Finance, HADM 4429 Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management, and HADM 4487 Real Estate Law.

Can’t believe this will be ending in the near future, but I plan to savor it to the very last drop.

This past weekend, I actually drove down to NYC with my father — partly to visit the place that I will be spending my summer but mostly to chat with the Managing Director of Le Bernardin, which is one of the most highly-regarded and rated restaurants … um … anywhere. Just the fact that I was selected to interview there for an internship is incredible (and I would like to chalk it up to more than just dumb luck) as it satisfies my latent Hotelie tendencies to gravitate back towards the traditional hotel/restaurant side of the world.

The interview, I thought, went extremely well. I had a brief Skype interview with Mr. Mancini (the Managing Director) about 2 weeks beforehand, so this one was kind of just a continuation of that — only more comfortable. Through a lot of it, I was just able to ask a bunch of questions, and he seemed very willing to offer honest and candid answers, which I was impressed with. So (*fingers crossed*) I will be hearing back by the end of March what the dealio is with that. Now it’s just a waiting game.

And side note: If anyone knows of Chef Eric Ripert — he’s a celebrity chef and just happens to be in charge of the back-of-house at Le Bernardin — he was actually there this weekend. I saw him walking back and forth between the office suites, and it was extremely difficult not to be “shell-shocked” and/or scream out, “HEY! Ripert, you’re the MAN!” But I digress. I was able to restrain myself … luckily.

Just for reference: He appeared on Top Chef a number of times, which is a show that I’m a huge fan of. So the pictures from Le Bernardin/Top Chef below — look familiar?