Plants are Matthew Bond’s passion. And at Cornell, this senior and Plant Science major has found plenty of opportunities to pursue his passion.
“I’ve always known since middle school and even younger that I wanted to work with plants,” said Matthew. “I think some of it came from my grandmother, who loved plants, and from my father, too, who didn’t have the chance to explore that part of himself when he was younger. He liked to take me to gardens when I was growing up and was eager to encourage me when he saw that we shared an interest in plants.”
Although he was accepted to Cornell as a freshman, Matthew decided to spend his first two years as an undergraduate at SUNY Potsdam, closer to his home in Ogdensburg, NY. As a Biology major there, he had the opportunity to pursue independent research related to plants and plant chemistry, which deepened his interest in the work and solidified his conviction that Cornell was where he belonged.
“Academically, I feel much more at home here. Cornell is what I’d always hoped it would be – a place filled with others who share my focus on plants and plant research.”