Author Archives: hjs98

Corporate Social Responsibility in A Cup

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Yesterday, I attended the Rose Cafe with Keith Lemnios about Sun Coffee. As an avid coffee drinker, I was really interested in learning more about the company that supplies the coffee to the dining halls here at Cornell. I expected to just hear about the process of making coffee, but ended up learning so much more about the company and the great things they are doing to help the environment and the lives of their workers.

Lemnios told us how he reevaluated his companies practices after finding out that the families that were growing the beans had been earning the same level of wages since the 40’s. Since then, they have worked to provide living wages to families and really enhance the lives of their workers. They have invested in the education of the families that work on their farms and work to provide better lives for them. Lemnios really seemed invested in the welfare of their workers, and it really showed through his visits to the farm to check in on the workers and how they are doing. I think this is awesome, especially being in ILR, I am extremely interested in companies that care so much about the workers, especially in countries that do not have the labor laws in place regarding safety, working conditions and wages that we have in the US. The company was also extremely concerned with their environmental impact, and preserving the rainforest. More companies have been adopting corporate social responsibility and this trend should continue, as it really shows the trends towards companies caring more about their impact on the world than making a profit.

I also learned information about the process of making coffee that I had not known before. While this is slightly embarrassing to admit considering my coffee addiction, I did not know that coffee beans grew on trees and were the seeds of cherries from the trees. It was really interesting to see the process by which Sun Coffee roasts their beans, and see the measures they have taken to ensure their process is sustainable and environmentally friendly.

This Rose Cafe really opened my eyes and made me think more about where the things I eat and drink actually come from. Before, I never really considered the supply chain and processes it takes to get the coffee to the dining hall, and now that I know, I have a greater appreciation for this coffee and the great company behind it.

“Track”ing across the Atlantic

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Before attending the Rose Cafe with Paul Wilcox, I did not actually know what the Transatlantic Series was. However I did remember hearing about the “British track team” being at Cornell and seeing them in the dining halls, without really knowing why they were here. People told me it was to train and compete, but I had no idea that this was a long-standing tradition that started before the Olympics.

The history described by Wilcox was very interesting, and it was obvious that Wilcox is passionate about the Transatlantic Series. It was very interesting to see the progression of the sport through the lens of the Series and it’s connections to Cornell. They were some of the first international sporting matches ever, and Charles Sherril, a competitor in the series, started the starting squat that all track athletes use today. Many of the athletes have gone on to be Olympic champions and world record holders. I think the most interesting thing about this series is the connections made between the schools involved. To be able to bring these teams together, to both combine and compete against one another and be completely immersed in the culture of the school traveled to would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and makes the sport even more worthwhile. Being an athlete myself, there is no stronger connection than the shared love for a sport between people. Bringing these two teams together fosters not only skill and strong competition for an exciting meet but creates a bond between these two groups.

I’m glad to have learned about the Transatlantic Series as I now know why there were members of the Oxford track team in Becker for breakfast last week. I think it’s awesome that this tradition has been continued and think that it really enhances not only the experience of the athletes that participate, but the community as a whole by immersing the athletes who don’t attend that school in the culture and practices of the school. The exposure to a different educational environment is mutually beneficial for all involved.

culture SHOCK

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Last Wednesday, I attended the Rose Cafe where Andre Simores spoke about his home country, Brazil. I learned a lot of things about Brazil that I had not known before, including Brazil is the 5th largest country, and there are a variety of ecosystems, from the rainforest near the Amazon River to rural and agricultural areas of Minas Gerais. Simores and his wife also discussed the differences in schooling between Brazil and the US. In Brazil, those who can afford it send their children to private high schools in order to ensure they will get a full ride to a public college, while in the United States, usually those who attend private high schools attend private colleges.

The most important difference that I observed was the cultural differences that occurred even just within the talk itself. Simores was obviously still in the process of learning English and giving a talk in front of a room full of native English speakers was probably no easy task. I took French in high school for 4 years and barely felt comfortable presenting in front of my class during this time, so I would not have been surprised if Simores was a bit nervous by the presentation. It was easy to see some of the cultural differences, even in the way Simores spoke and presented his information, and even working through the presentation doing Google searches. It really emphasized the differences between American and Brazilian culture, as using a laptop and doing Google searches is second nature for almost all Americans, and really got me thinking and considering the living circumstances of other places. In addition, the language differences were evident as certain English phrases were different from Portuguese phrases, even if they have the same meaning. It is very easy at Cornell to get wrapped up in schoolwork, social life and extracurricular activities and forget about other cultures, but I think this talk reminded me to consider others more, and was a learning experience for both sides.

Finding A Mentor

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Last week, Rose Cafe was different from previous Cafe events. Usually, the Cafe sessions start with the speaker giving a presentation in their area of expertise and then opens up the floor for questions. However, last week, Sam Beck focused his talk on us, asking each of us to describe our career aspirations and interests. It was very interesting to learn more about the other students there, and definitely fostered a real sense of community within the Scholar program and Rose House in general.

Beck really emphasized that learning is more than memorizing facts and being able to recite them. He also emphasized that college is more than getting grades and a degree, but we must exploit the resources that Cornell offers us. One of these resources, if we are lucky enough to find one, is a mentor here at Cornell. A mentor is more than an advisor, they show a genuine interest in the development as an individual and as a student. This can be hard, especially at a large school. It can be hard to establish relationships with some professors, especially if the class is a large lecture with 400 other students who also may want to establish a relationship and get to know a professor. Beck’s talk was reassuring though, because his genuine interest in getting to know our aspirations and interests showed that professors are more invested in the lives of their students than most people would think. They want us to develop as people as well as learn the material they provide to us. This has changed my view of how to approach establishing relationships with professors or anyone else of authority. Establishing a relationship with a complete stranger can be somewhat intimidating, but Beck’s genuine interest in my aspirations within 5 minutes of simply being in the same room was comforting, as many professors here are genuinely invested in their students as Beck is.

Fat talk

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Last week, I attended the Rose Cafe where Jonathan Robin discussed fats. He described a long history of the different perspectives and cultural angles of fat. For something that is such a common thing, it was interesting to hear about the different perspectives, not only from cultural angles, but from a historical perspective and the trends in fat consumption that were assumed to occur, and in some case did not. An example of this from the talk was that chemists thought animal fats would be replaced by other sources of fat, yet that did not occur. We discussed many types of fats, like trans fat and the environmental impacts of these fats, which I think is often overlooked. When discussing fats in daily life, I typically only think of the percentages on the back of a food product on a nutrition fact label, rather than where these fats are actually coming from, and I think I need to be more cognizant of this, as it is important to realize the impact of the food industry. It can be hard, since some of the environmental destruction is not occurring in our own country, but it is an important thing to keep in mind.

The talk also discussed the role of the FDA in regulating these fats. While I do think some regulation may be beneficial, it can be somewhat misleading. For instance, he discussed the fact that although trans fat has been pretty much eliminated, less than a gram of trans fat is equated to zero in the FDA’s mind, even though there may actually be a minuscule amount of trans fat in that product. This surprised me, and made me want to find out more about nutrition and think about my food more often before I eat it. In high school and freshman year of college, I essentially ate whatever I wanted and thought nothing of it. I have come to realize that eating ice cream every day and eating fried food may taste good, but I need to start eating healthy as my metabolism slows down and before my eating habits catch up to me. While this took me a while to realize, I am glad that I have, and this talk really illuminated the importance of my lifestyle change.

 

Food for thought

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Last week, I attended the Rose Cafe with Jane Ziegelman, where she discussed her research on food during the Great Depression. I found this to be an extremely interesting talk, especially to learn about the direct connections to Cornell. The economic hardships of the 1920’s and 30’s created a new way of thinking about cooking, one which I was surprised to learn had a lot to do with milk and making do with very little ingredients to make a meal that would provide enough nutrients to a family. I think one of the most interesting things I took away from the presentation was how quickly food trends and recipes change, especially based on the food supply and economic state of the country. Our recipes and daily meals are very different from the meals described from this time period, and I think it will be interesting to see how different food is nearly 100 years from now.

Hearing of Flora Rose’s work was very interesting as well. Before this talk, I really was unsure of Rose’s influence, other than my current residence being named after her. I have a better understanding of her now, with her work in home economics and influence nationally, budding from her friendship and work with Eleanor Roosevelt. It was cool to see actual recipes that she published in her recipe book, knowing that many all over America were using the recipes to provide a meal to their families in harsh economic struggles. It was also interesting to see how far women have come in terms of education. Ziegelman described women going to school to learn home economics, and basically learned how to take care of the home, including cooking. Today, I could hardly imagine being taught how to take care of the home formally, but getting a degree to pursue a future career. It really has shown how the roles of women in American society have changed, from solely taking care of the home to working.

This talk really brought a new side of the Depression to light and gave me a greater understanding of this period in American history.

Pursuing Perfection

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Last Wednesday, I attended the art exhibit showcasing the work of Nicholas Carbonaro. His artwork was abstract, with distorted faces and lots of color in some of them. Many of the drawings had people with eyes that were different sizes, and not aligned. Before he explained what his inspiration and meaning behind his artwork was, I was intrigued by the drawings, as I thought they may be some representation that the world is not really how we view it, that nothing is really perfect, despite the desire in both the media and daily life to pursue perfection. His explanation of his inspiration and artwork really got at this exactly. He discussed the lack of symmetry in the real world, and the unrealistic nature of the “selfie” generation. This really resonated with me, as I have definitely noticed that there is societal pressure to attempt to make one’s life seem perfect and always seem put together, whether it’s a post on Instagram, or always having perfect hair and makeup whenever out in public. His artwork really provoked the opposite perspective, and the one he thinks is the true way the world is, and it is one that I agree with. The human race was not made to be perfect, and our attempts to counteract this on social media arise out of the false assumption that we should be perfect. Carbonaro made it clear, through both his artwork and discussion, that we should embrace our uniqueness, our lack of symmetry and the things that make us happy, which for him was being creative and expressing himself. Uniqueness is a key feature of being human, and failing to embrace this is a key mistake that many have fallen into. However, following Carbonaro’s advice, by embracing the things that make us different from others and pursuing the things we love and pleasing ourselves rather than others, we can overcome this pursuit of perfection that has been falsely instilled in our generation.

Making the most of Cornell

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At the end of the Rose Cafe last night, Cynthia Hill posed an important question: what do you want to get out of college? Some answers to this we discussed, including figuring out who you are as a person and discovering interests and the ability to delve into and pursue such interests. For me, I think I would have answered this question in a slightly different way. For me, I think the most valuable lesson I have taken away from college so far, and will at the end of my experience here at Cornell is the ability to take criticism and failure and turn it into something positive. Before coming to Cornell, I had rarely experienced failure in my academics, and was rarely criticized while learning as many subjects came very naturally to me. Since coming here, I have had essays harshly criticized and failed tests, which I was not used to before coming. However, I think these failures were essential to both my future learning and building my character to prepare me to join the workforce. In the future, not everything will go the way I want it to, but by learning to accept failure and learn from it, I will be better prepared for anything that life throws at me. Failure on a test has taught me the proper way for me to learn material and obtain a concrete understanding of concepts and had enabled me to grow my critical thinking skills. Being able to accept failure in any situation and using it to better myself as a person is the key takeaway I have already taken away from my experience here, and I hope to learn as much about myself through both success and failure during the remainder of my time here at Cornell.

The Art of the Cover Letter

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Before attending the Rose Seminar on cover letters, they had still been somewhat of a mystery to me. Yes, I know what a cover letter is, and yes, I understand the purpose, but I did not know how to craft one that would ensure that I would have the greatest chance of getting a job I apply to. In the seminar, we discussed an analogy, comparing writing a cover letter to speed dating. You need to present everything that is relevant to the job, or in the case of speed dating, say the most important things that would make you compatible with a potential date. Knowing that everything must be concise, to the point, and tailored to showcase skills and compatibility with the job is the key to a great cover letter. One thing that I really took away from this seminar was the point that one doesn’t need to be a perfect match for a job to apply. It’s all about marketing the skills you do have and framing them in a positive way to present to an employer. I think this was the best advice taken from this seminar, as it can be a common pitfall to fall into during a job hunt that no job seems to a perfect fit for anyone’s given interests, skills and experience, and then not apply. This seminar showed me that if there is a job that interests you, there is something on your resume that you have done that can be tailored and can be shown in a cover letter to an employer, regardless of whether you match every single qualification on the job description.