Professor Dan Schwarz’s talk about “how to succeed in college and beyond” was apt for the start of the school year. I appreciated the balanced emphasis on the present and the future. Professor Schwarz talked about considering your future plans, but also living in the moment and having fun. While you need to have a focus on your future goals you should not let those long-term goals cloud shorter term goals. For example, having a goal of going to graduate school could cause you to loose focus on daily goals. Getting daily exercise or a good laugh every day help lay the foundation for attempts at more ambitious goals. I appreciated this prospective because sometimes I can get overly focused on larger goals and allow smaller goals to be pushed aside.

I also appreciated Professor Schwarz’s mention of the importance of resilience. I think resilience is and incredibly important quality that it deserved even greater emphasis. In talking about the goals and the future it is important to recognize the possibility of failure. When something does not work out as planned it is vital to accept the disappointment and try again. Given the ambitious goals that many people have, disappointments are inevitable. The challenge is how to respond to these disappointments and grow from the experience.

Ultimately, my greatest take away was to do what you love. It was clear that Professor Schwarz’s genuinely enjoys his job. His passion and excitement was palpable. I think loving what you do and finding meaning in life is a great measure of success both in college and beyond.

As a freshman, one of my greatest obstacles was the inability to mentally separate myself from my equally intelligent, passionate and overachieving peers.  It took me nearly eight months to learn the necessity and importance of carving out at least one hour per day for personal time; celebrating both my mistakes and accomplishments; reaching out for help before I needed it; and seeking out friends with completely different backgrounds as me.  Over the course of my past two semesters at Cornell, I have realized that college has so much more to offer than academic success.  As Dan Schwarz, a Professor of English at Cornell and the author of over fifteen books, emphasized during a recent Becker-Rose Café session, “It doesn’t matter where you go, it’s what you do that matters.”  It is the undergraduate research, the extracurricular clubs, the athletics, the service and leadership events, and the shared experiences of learning from and struggling with a diverse community of peers that truly makes a college experience so valuable and rich.  Schwarz added to this by highlighting key focuses of each year of college and giving advice on time management, reaching out for help and planning ahead in order to succeed in college and beyond.  Even though each year of college involves new motivations, for instance networking during sophomore year and focusing on graduate school applications during junior and senior year, one key aspect that unifies all four years is the three R’s, those being Resolve, Resilience and Resourcefulness.  Without the resolve to power through a problem set at 1 AM; the resilience to change up study habits to improve after failing a prelim; and the resourcefulness to finish an essay by a deadline despite having a broken laptop, we wouldn’t be able to survive at Cornell.  Much of Schwarz’s advice resonated with the changes I had to make during my freshman year in order to find happiness.  Similar to what Schwarz advised, I decided to allocate a small chunk of free time everyday to myself, whether that be an hour to exercise, (several hours) to binge watch Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt or half an hour to simply walk to West to eat dinner with friends.  Ultimately, it is the relationships, struggles, interactions and experiences that we obtain in our four years of college that enhance the person we are already.

 

After attending the Rose-Becker cafe, featuring Dan Schwarz , I can confidently say that we (the Cornell community) needs to re-evaluate how we define success and the contexts we apply it to. Personally, I don’t believe that there is a formula to being successful and that the processization of Cornell’s definition of success has made success singular and inflexible.

I was told as a young child that success meant being happy and living a life of passion. But from my first year at Cornell, success now means following a highly detailed and direct pipeline to the corporate world. Dan Schwarz’s advice of “getting a summer internship” and “interviewing with companies” falls right in line with this kind of thought.

Success has now become a word that equates with idiosyncrasy. Which in turn, means that only certain people who fit this mode are deemed successful. Why is it that students entering the business, consulting, or tech fields are much quicker to call themselves successful than students who study the arts or humanities? Success on Cornell’s campus so unattainable that students such as myself, whose passions lie outside of “corporate America,” are currently in the market for another word to describe our achievements and accomplishments because success has been monopolized by the corporate world and a system that values financial gain over intellectual, spiritual or relationships wealth.

I am not here to say that students who focus in business are at fault. I am only here to point out that there needs to be shift in the way we communicate certain ideals about success on this university. This is precisely why we need to redefine success and return it to other populations of students who are actively pursuing fields that don’t lead to the C-suite.

In day-to-day life at Cornell, it can be very difficult to focus on the big picture. Little things like the next club meeting, tomorrow night’s prelim, or the essay due at midnight often overshadow the reasons we came here in the first place. Professor Dan Schwarz’s talk was a good reminder to stay proactive and focused on the future. As someone in large classes and with a pretty focused curriculum, I particularly appreciated what he had to say about getting to know professors and the importance of taking classes outside of your major.

While I truly appreciated his advice, I did think that much of it was too general to be especially helpful. This was particularly because most of the audience was composed of upperclassmen; there was only one freshman in attendance. Professor Schwarz touched on everything from the first weeks of freshman year to getting a job after graduation, so while he covered a lot of information, he didn’t go into much depth on any one topic. Most upperclassmen had already heard much of this general advice before, so discussing one or two things like how to approach professors or how to do well in a job interview would have been more helpful to his audience.

That being said, he very clearly cared deeply about Cornell students – not just in their successes here, but in their successes beyond the university. I appreciated him taking the time to talk to us, and his reminders were a great way to start off the semester and this year’s Scholar’s program.

Much of Prof. Schwarz’s talk struck me as good advice not only for college, but in for our lives in general. His three Rs, in particular, stood out to me. Resilience is essential to moving forward – without it every failure could be the one to keep us down and could cut us off from a whole line of future successes. Resolve is likewise a crucial ingredient of success – without the commitment to see our goals through to completion, success will be, unsurprisingly, elusive. But the R that I’d like to talk most about is resourcefulness. In any environment this is an important trait to have, but this is especially true at a university like Cornell, where an inexhaustible amount of resources are packed into what in the grand scheme of things amounts to a pinhead (the campus is actually 745 acres, I googled it).

 

I once listened to a motivational speaker give a talk on public radio as part of a series they were broadcasting about success. The station had on lots of speakers and entertained questions about the definition of success and the best ways to achieve it. This speaker suggested that one of the greatest factors that keeps us from success is a lack of resourcefulness masquerading as a lack of resources. Often times, he noted, people will blame their inability to achieve a goal on their circumstances – the environment isn’t right, the timing is off, they don’t have the resources to get it done. He argued that this kind of thinking limits us – it diminishes our potential to succeed. It makes sense. When we ascribe our lack of success to outside factors, we are taking power directly out of our own hands. According to this kind of thinking, if the right resources for success don’t exist, that’s it. We can’t be expected to succeed without having the things we need to succeed, and they are simply not there. What this thinking overlooks is our own abilities to make or make do – that is, to obtain the resources we need or to figure out a solution given the ones we have. This is the kind of resourcefulness that paves the path to success, and it is a quality we need to remember and foster in ourselves moving forward. For the time being, however, we are lucky – we won’t be faced with a lack of resources. What we, as students here at Cornell, must do is remember the many resources that are available to us and make good use of them in our time here.

As a returning Rose Scholar, I remember Dan Schwartz’s talk from last year, in the cramped space of Garrick’s apartment. I remember he said basically the same thing, along the lines of get involved in the community, work on your career, don’t waste your time here, same old same old. But after rereading my blog post from last year, I realize that the good professor had changed a little bit of his lecture to include a new piece of advice: do something fun every day.

Sounds obvious, right? But I find that in the stress-induced environment that Cornell produces, it becomes harder and harder to make time to do something fun. Take right now, as I’m writing this blog post. I’m in the middle of my Operating Systems problem set, after grading assignments for the course I TA for ten hours before that, after writing code for my project team for three hours before that, after working on web development jobs for clients I have from the summer, after organizational meetings and doing work for a different club. And looking forward, I have a Machine Learning problem set and a math problem set due this week, as well as a prelim on Monday. So fun can wait, right?

The problem is that doing all of that stuff in a row is tiring and if you’re not careful and don’t let your brain relax, you’ll get stretched too thin. This happened to me towards the end of last semester. But Schwartz’s simple advice actually makes things a lot better. Watching a little television or taking some time to get dinner with friends (as opposed to stress eating through a coding session in the dining hall) really helps to unwind and put your academic woes on hold.

I also want to point out that, if you actually love what you’re doing, work can be fun as well. Though it seems like all my problem sets are tedious and annoying, I actually enjoy them. And I wouldn’t be part of the clubs I’m in if I didn’t think they were incredibly rewarding and entertaining. So doing things that you love doing also counts as a source of fun. Just when all of those things have hard deadlines within the week do I stop enjoying them and freak out. That’s where juggling, watching a movie or just talking to someone comes in handy, and it really works.

Professor Schwartz’s talk in the Becker Rose Cafe brought some eye opening suggestions on how to succeed in college as well as supportive responses from the audience. Through his candor, Schwartz immediately let the audience know that he was about to give us some valuable advice on how to make the best of the college experience. The chronological start to his speech brought a step-by-step approach on how to succeed every year , starting from Freshman year and ending at senior year. While advocating for academic ambition, the professor also suggested that students get to know their professors very well and seek opportunities outside the classroom. I was surprised by his commitment to pushing students to find resources and projects , for he genuinely wanted undergraduates to branch out of the confinements of a classroom. His understanding of the education system in the University allowed him to come to reasonable conclusions about a student’s academic career. He emphasized the importance of joining recreational clubs and organizations that didn’t relate to one’s major and utilizing one’s summer most efficiently. Most importantly, he taught us how to prepare for the world outside the University.

One of the major topics of this talk was decisions after graduation which included joining jobs or going to graduate school. The professor was able to weigh the pros and cons of both options very well in order to let the audience decide what was best suited for them. As a professor, he explained the joys of teaching in a University and encouraged others to follow higher education, but also stated that graduate school wasn’t meant for everybody. His advice allowed the students to reflect on their desires and hopes after graduation  and start planning on how they were going to reach their goals. Professor Schwartz’s talk enlightened the minds of the young university students who were expecting to be bored by a generic speech  on success but were pleasantly surprised by the honesty of the speaker and his advice for success.

Professor Dan Schwarz is a very eloquent and engaging speaker. I think everyone in the room was able to see that.

Instead of telling us what we have all already heard about finding internships and asking professors for recommendations, maybe he could have shared some of the secrets behind how he can present to a roomful of people without a shred of visible anxiety.

Schwarz mentioned multiple times how important interviews will be in a college student’s future, and his advice on the matter was to speak confidently without “um”s and “like”s.

Which is much easier said than done.

Most people are not blessed with the natural eloquence that Schwarz clearly displayed to us last Wednesday night. I believe his spiel about interviews would have been much more effective if he had included even a few tips about how to overcome your “um”s while speaking in nerve-wracking situations.

Furthermore, I sensed a slight aura of superiority from him while he was talking about his colleagues whom he has seen stumble with “um”s while giving speeches. As someone with social anxiety, I find it difficult to talk in normal social situations, let alone during an interview or while giving a speech or presentation. Instead of putting down those of us who are not naturally blessed with articulacy like he is, perhaps Schwarz should have shared some insight into improving this in order to kick butt in our future interviews. I think this is the best advice he could have given us that night.

The future is an incredibly daunting aspect of one’s life to ponder about. The fear of the unknown can become challenging and cause some to question their options. My fear of the unknown almost prevented me from attending one of the most challenging universities in the nation. As a transfer sophomore, I am excited to get involved with activities, both inside and outside the classroom, that I can dedicate my time and energy to. However, it isn’t always easy to hit the ground running and find the balance between academics and activities outside the classroom. While I came from a relatively competitive public high school, I always questioned my ability to do well at Cornell where everyone here was in the top percentile of his or her graduating class.

It wasn’t until after Dr. Schwartz’s presentation that I realized I now had the recourses to alleviate college student nerves. During his lecture, Dr. Schwartz sketched a plan for every student, regardless of the student’s graduating year, to follow and adapt in his or her everyday lives. Furthermore, Dr. Schwartz explained to me that there would be times where I may do poorly on tests and or some assignments. He stressed that students would overcome this failure, learn from it, and move on. By “moving” on, Dr. Schwartz elaborated that students shouldn’t immediately jump to changing his or her major due to a lower grade than expected, but instead seek additional assistance from fellow classmates, graduate students, and last but not least, professors. Dr. Schwartz encouraged students to take a goal-oriented strategy in pursuing and maintaining relationships with different professors each semester. He contends that by fostering good relationships with professors, students will be able to get more involved outside of the classroom in a plethora of research opportunities as well as seek recommendation letters for future pursuits. In regards to off-campus activities, Dr. Schwartz recommended that students should get involved with activities on campus and possibly steer clear of Greek Life if students are taking a demanding course load. Interestingly, Dr. Schwartz preached that “time is time” not money. He wanted all students to understand that life moves fast and it is better to look back at thing we attempted and did not like than to look back and wish that we did x, y, z. Lastly, Dr. Schwartz left us with a few words of wisdom on how to not only do well here at Cornell but in all of out future endeavors. As such, Dr. Schwartz stated the 3Rs, Resilience, Resourcefulness, Resolve (with an emphasis on persistence). He explained that the 3Rs would be vital in exploring new opportunities and accepting of oneself and others.

Overall, while Dr. Schwartz’s presentation emphasized a number of strategies for college students to adopt, I feel as though his target audience should have been focused on incoming freshman. He made a number of helpful suggestions for college students; however, I believe that high school seniors and/or freshman entering the college sphere would gain more from his advice. Nonetheless, Dr. Schwartz is a thoughtful individual who presented helpful information (teacher recommendation advice) during my first Rose Scholars event.

On Wednesday I attended the first Becker/Rose cafe series of the year,  and had the opportunity to hear Professor Dan Schwartz talk about how to make the best used of our time at Cornell. He shared that time management, making plans, getting to know professors, and spending a little time each day for fun activities were all important to find and realize our career and personal goals. All of his points seemed to be valid, but there was a deeper question looming over the discussion: Why?

Why are we seeking a certain vocation above all else? Taking a step farther back, why do we make the choices we do, what is our motivation for doing anything? I think that it’s important to answer the universal question of “What am I made to do and how am I made to live?” before tackling the issue of how to maximize my career potential through my time at Cornell. Dan Schwartz seemed to make the assumption that, at this point in our lives, we see ourselves as students first. This is true for some, but not for everyone – at least, not for me.

Personally, my identity is in my Father-Son relationship with God by the grace of Jesus. This informs the decisions I make at the deepest level. Though I am a student, I’m not a student first. My question to others is: who are you at your core, and how do you choose to live based on that identity? Do you subscribe to the idea that, since you are at Cornell, you are a student first? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the midst of college and all its requirements, it is very difficult to know exactly how to prepare for life beyond graduation. Four years still seems like a long time and besides, there are classes to attend to and nobody likes thinking about getting a job. However, if you do ever take a step back and consider what the end of your tenure at school will look like, an image might come up of arriving in second semester senior year and realize you don’t have any sort of employment lined up or even worse, you don’t have the necessary classes to graduate or never learned to swim. With that terrifying vision in mind, you realize then the importance of developing a plan of action to ensure that doesn’t happen. You know that you should have some sort of plan for laying the foundation for the job application process and the graduation process for that matter, but without ever having attempted to do either of these things in your before it is very challenging to even come up with a list of steps or if you can, they are usually very vague. I know for me, arriving at the end of freshman year and having to look for a summer job that I kind of felt lost in the whole process.

This is where the Becker-Rose Café’s speaker, Dr. Dan Schwartz comes in. As someone who has been at Cornell a long time and seen many students come and go, presumably both successful and unsuccessful ones, he was adept at relating to his audience what exactly differentiates the two. In under an hour, Dr. Schwartz went through an abundance of strategies for making the most of your courses, from which subjects you need to have taken to be ready for life after school to which subjects you need to take to be ready for life in general. Perhaps the most fascinating part of his lecture for me however, was his suggestions for the inevitable job process. One really interesting part of that that Dr. Schwartz touched on a lot were professor recommendations. Although most students do know they have to have recommendations at some point, at a big college like Cornell it can be hard to feel like you know your professors, and even if you did, have the courage to ask them for a recommendation. In this area Dr. Schwartz provided a key insight: every semester you have to make an active effort to get to know two professors and by the end of your sophomore year, even with a 50% success rate, you will still have four professors to drawn on. Adding to that he mentioned something I personally was very surprised by, which was that students should never worry about thinking they are putting a burden on a professor by asking them to write a recommendation. He emphasized that professors know that it’s their responsibility and are usually happy to do it if you know them well. Overall I really enjoyed Dr. Schwarz’s extremely energetic, relatable, and valuable advice, and I hope to put it all to good use in the rest of my time at Cornell.

Professor Schwarts was a great kick start to the lecture series because he mentioned lots of things a student should know. He ran the lecture similar to a freshman intro to college class but even though I’m a junior I thought it was very helpful advice that I can use throughout my college career. Some of the recommendations he gave was about going abroad, surviving the first few weeks, keep making new friends, the benefits of getting to know professors, and leadership experience.

Professor Schwarts explained how going abroad was a well worth experience for him because it showed a new style of living and culture which was significantly different than America. Being introduced to college is also a sharp transition so being able to get passed the struggles that most people have is very important. Once you find your place on campus and friends that you like school becomes a lot easier and enjoyable.

What helped me the most by gong to the lecture was hearing that teachers like writing recommendations for students. I have always been nervous asking for recommendations because I feel like it is a lot of work for the teacher. By asking questions in a class and going to office hours it is easy to get to know a teacher they will know you better if you do this.

 

As a junior, I have been focusing on deciding what to do after graduation by looking into and applying for different internships and summer programs. For this reason, I thought that Professor Dan Schwarz’s presentation was a great way to make sure that I am on the right track to finding my career path. One of the points that Dr. Schwarz made that really resonated with me was the need to take a variety of classes, specifically in economics, computing, and the humanities (although I would also add sciences like chemistry or physics to this list). Being a chemical engineer, I barely have any flexibility when choosing my classes; generally, I only choose one class a semester that I want to take. However, Dr. Schwarz had a great point about how college is not just a time to learn about your desired field, but that college is also a time to grow as a person. This means that I should not only focus on becoming an educated chemical engineer, but also focus on becoming an educated human being. In my case, this would mean by taking other classes like art history, macroeconomics, and wine tasting which I am also interested in.

Additionally, Dr. Schwarz also stressed the importance of getting to know professors. Although I have gotten to know a couple of professors in my major, I almost always talk to TA’s when I need help in my class instead of the professor, meaning I don’t have the chance to talk to the professors. But after hearing how important this is, I think from now on I will focus on making more of a connection with my professors.

 

On Wednesday September 16, 2015, I went to the first Becker-Rose Cafe Series. Prof. Dan Schwarz talked about what a student must try to accomplish each year that they are in college. As a returning scholar, I had went to the same cafe series last year but it was definitely different for me going into it this year. It is my junior year at Cornell and I would say I have had some time to think about things I might have done differently if I was a freshman or even a sophomore now. When I heard Prof. Schwarz last year, I tried to take note of all his ideas and tried to see which ones might work well for me. Now, as a junior, I was able to think more critically during the talk and understand exactly what might fit for me.

One of the most important things I liked about the talk was Prof. Schwarz’s idea that you should work everyday but not all day long. I believe it is important to learn something everyday, most likely because I also think learning is fun. It is also important for me to work everyday. As an engineering student, I have to spend a lot of time doing readings, going through problem sets and working in the lab for three hours. If I didn’t work everyday, even for say two hours, it would be difficult to stay on course. But even when I am not at Cornell, I try to do work everyday because it is important for me to learn something everyday. Although I do work everyday, I try to put in fun activities in the day as well.

Prof. Schwarz gave good advice for junior year. He suggested people try getting internships, especially internships that pay money. I think its very helpful to get an internship because it might help you decide on your career. I had an internship this past summer which helped me decide I want to focus more on Computer Engineering. In addition it gives you experience in the work place which is not only good to show employers but also good for you to understand the difference between working and studying in college. Prof. Schwarz gave some good advice through out the one hour. If students are able to accomplish at least two things from the many things Prof. Schwarz suggested, it would help them have a really good experience in college.

I sometimes find it hard to believe that I’m already a senior at Cornell. Perhaps, this is due to the fact that I transferred from a former community college back home in South Florida. By the time I graduate, I will have spent 2 years and an extra semester at Cornell. So, being that I’m entering the “home stretch” of my college journey, I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to hear some words of advice from a professor that is regarded highly in the realm of college advice.

Professor Dan Schwarz had advice for each year of one’s time in college. Most of the students that were present were either sophomores or juniors. As a senior, I thought, “Great, I get to hear about the things that I should’ve done but never did.” Professor Schwarz, however, spent a fair amount of time on each year and I didn’t feel like I missed out on too much. When he got to senior year, however, I felt like I couldn’t relate as much.

It is no surprise to many, perhaps, that senior year is the year one prepares to enter the professional world (aka the “real world”). One, for example, should hand out his or her resume to potential employers and strengthen his or her interview skills. The problem I had with this advice was that it didn’t seem to apply to me immediately after graduation. As a human development major, I have plans to pursue clinical psychology in graduate school. So, I don’t necessarily plan to work in my field of interest right away. The deeper problem, however, is that I’m not completely sure if I even want to go to graduate school! I’ll be looking to attend the next career fair, as I now realize that there just might be an employer that I gravitate towards. I must take full advantage of the resources and opportunities that present themselves while I start my final chapter in college.

Wednesday, Professor Dan Schwarz talked about his advise on how to succeed in college. As a junior transfer student from China, although I do not have the experience of freshman year and sophomore year at Cornell, I still found some of the overall advice he gave to students are valuable.

One thing he mentioned is to try new things. We should be brave in our lives and be open to new experiences. In college, we may have many concerns such as graduation requirements, high GPA and internship background. But those things should not be the barriers preventing us from trying new things. Take courses out of your major, go for an amazing trip and enjoy yourself.

He also recommended that three categories of classes,which are useful, should be taken- humanity, economics and computers. I think I should take a Matlab course or R language course next semester as it is very important skill to deal with data.

What I am particularly interested in is the advice on doing research for undergraduate student. He stated the benefits from doing undergraduate research should be the ability of conducting independent study and thinking independently. There are several ways to seek research opportunities for undergraduate students. The courses you are taking, your advisor and professors you know are good resources. By the way, I think Prof.Garrick is very kind and can offer help.

On Wednesday night, Dan Schwartz offered students advice about how to successfully navigate college. Being a junior, his advice wasn’t anything new or life-changing for me because I’ve heard it from various people multiple times. I’m not bashing his advice; it’s just that there are only so many ways of telling people to get involved, make connections, and have fun while they’re here.

However, near the conclusion of his talk, Schwartz mentioned his “three R’s:” resilience, resourcefulness, and resolve. Although I’ve heard and understood the importance of these traits to being successful before, these words started to take on a new role for me upon further reflection. I am currently at the point in my college career where I am thinking about grad school and my future career goals. Personally, I would prefer to go straight into grad school without taking a gap year. However, I understand that it is becoming more and more common for grad schools to desire prospective students to have work experience prior to enrolling. That being the case, I recognize that next year I may not be accepted to the grad programs that I am interested in. Although that would be disappointing, that wouldn’t prevent me from achieving my goals. It would admittedly be a set back, but nothing insurmountable. In the event that I don’t get into grad school next year, I will have to be mindful of Schwartz’s three R’s in order to continue striving for my goals rather than simply settling.

During the Becker-Rose Cafe discussion this past Wednesday, we had the pleasure of hearing from Professor Dan Schwarz. I came into the mini lecture style setup in the Rose library, exhausted from the already long day, and awaited what I hoped would be an interesting talk, and boy was I pleased. Professor Schwarz, talked initially about how we as students, don’t know how to have fun. That line really stuck out to me, as it was the first time someone older than me accused me of not knowing how to have fun, or rather that I don’t have enough fun. I sat up in my seat from then onward intrigued at the direction this discussion had immediately taken. He discussed how many students on campus are bogged down with problem sets, or various academic extra-curricular activities that having fun, relaxing, or trying new things takes a backseat to finishing the mountains of homework that are constantly looming over us. I realized that he was absolutely right. Being as busy as I am, I schedule in allotted time for fun more and more rather than just going with the flow. I’ll deny friend’s invitations if I wasn’t given at least a days notice. Overall, it’s hectic but and at times disappointing but it keeps my stress manageable and I don’t worry about all-nighters. Even so, I’ve decided that I personally do need to relax more and take the time to enjoy the opportunities here at Cornell. There won’t be another time in our lives when we can so easily learn about different cultures or go to various events with friends so close to us without huge hassles, and it’s about time that I start capitalizing on what’s available. I highly recommend many of the Rose Scholars events that have been posted, and just by reading up on some other blog posts, you can definitely see all the cool things that unfortunately have passed by, but are a testament to the high quality of future events. I will definitely be attending more!

I find myself in a somewhat unique position regarding Professor Schwarz’s talk at the Becker-Rose Café on Wednesday night.  Being in Naval ROTC, I’m not particularly concerned about finding a job because I already know what I’ll be doing after graduation.  I have a minimum five year active duty service commitment as an officer in the U.S. Navy, so the whole searching for internships thing isn’t very relevant to me.  The way I see it, Professor Schwarz’s talk doesn’t necessarily have to be interpreted as a plan for professional success.  His wisdom works equally well for personal success, and certain parts of his discussion really showed how much he stresses that it’s not all about the end goal.  I personally noted this in how often he reminded the crowd–a bunch of over-achieving Cornellians–that this whole journey is supposed to be fun and enjoyable.  While I don’t have to look for a job in three years, I certainly have my fair share of work to do in the meantime, and Professor Schwarz’s advice is rather appropriate in that light.

I think that viewing the Professor’s talk as more of a whole-person advisory than a professional manual is important.  That’s not to imply that everybody is taking it that way, but I certainly see how some could.  Cornell is definitely a place where people can take themselves too seriously, so remembering to laugh a lot and enjoy the ride is a solid piece of wisdom that many may otherwise forget.

Last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to hear Dan Schwartz, a Cornell English professor and author, talk about some pieces of advice he gives to college students. As I reflected on the points he made, one aspect that resonated with me was the realization that the advice he gave is valuable not only for college students, but for life and living in general, and perhaps even more pertinent once you’re on your own, post-college. Besides the classic I’ve heard it befores, “plan ahead, study abroad, take classes in the humanities, get involved…”, Schwartz emphasized his three R’s: Resilience, Resourcefulness, and Resolve.  Resilience, Resourcefulness, and Resolve are the cornerstones of success and failure. Everybody is going to have failures and struggles one time or another and sometimes having people you love and having a positive outlook are the only things that hold your head up. It’s about getting back up after running into a wall and not being afraid to take risks and run into it again. It’s about appreciating the good things. As Schwartz said, its not the college you go to that matters, its about what you do. Just like it is not about where you are now, good or bad, it is about what you do and having an open mindset.

Last but not least, his most important piece of advice: laugh a lot. If you’re not, you’re doing something wrong.

Tonight, the Rose Scholars had the privileged of listening to Dan Schwarz speak about the basic outlook any student should have in regards to their college journey. As a freshman, there is a type of free-pass one is given during their first semester; basically, it is a chance to mess up, try new things both good and bad, and experience life in a completely different manner. As a sophomore, there is more pressure in relation to declaring a major, finding internships and jobs, and maintaining a solid network with friends, family, and teachers. As a junior, the end of one’s college experience is almost at its end and realization of careers or furthering one’s education are balanced amongst more specialized courses. Finally, as a senior, the choice of whether to continue forward as a student or enter the working world is decided. But, there is no doubt that all students should take advantage of their four years as a college student, because aside from an education, the experience, relationships, and growth that is obtained is priceless.

Reflecting on my freshman year, I can attest to the fact that the transition from high school to college is life changing. I grew up thirty minutes from the city of Miami in Florida and only dreamed of studying in Cornell, knowing the level of competition and prestige the school held. One of the most difficult obstacles for me to overcome was being separated from my family and friends who I have grown up with my entire life. It is curious that even though I was never physically alone – I made friends on my floor, in classes, and in various organizations – it was difficult to remind myself of who I was and not get swallowed up in the crowd. There is a certain powerful emotion that overcomes any student that is on their own for the first time, and that is independence. The fact that any action or decision taken or made respectively depends only on oneself and not whether “my friends said this”, or “my teacher told me that”, or “my parents said no”.

That is not to say the privilege of independence should be taken advantage of, nor that it affects all students negatively. Being on your own in a school where everyone is talented, intelligent, and “has their own space” as professor Schwarz puts it, it can be intimidating and exciting trying to find where it is one belongs. This talk reminded me that being a student comes first, and getting an education should, for the most part, be a joyous experience, because it is the transition into reality. Focusing on good grades and the future is inevitable, but taking part in fun activities, traveling, and meeting others is also a part of being a college student. Thus, with “resilience, resourcefulness, and resolve” as Professor Schwarz, one can be sure to optimize the years spent completing a major and ultimately figuring out the next step after graduation.

Dr. Dan Shwarz offered tips to a packed room of mainly sophomores and juniors about how to succeed college outside of academia last Wednesday night.  He suggested keeping a journal to hold ourselves accountable.  There is always so much to do on Cornell’s campus that it is easy to get swept up in it all and suddenly a month has already passed. He stressed that it is important for each of us to make the time to not only get involved, but to take on a leadership position in a club or on a team as well because that responsibility gives you a new appreciation for the activity.  As an English professor, Dr. Shwarz emphasized that “time is time” and is the one thing we cannot get back.  Undergrads have a tendency to sacrifice a fulfilling job for the one that will look best on their resume. Dr. Shwarz reminded the room that happiness is more important. He stressed that laughing more is the most important thing that anyone can do and that everyone should do one thing for themselves everyday. Dr. Shwarz’s speech was engaging and by the end, everyone was inspired to be a little better and work a little harder.

During orientation week, every student in the college of Engineering receives a handbook that’s about 150 pages. The handbook is your key to graduation. It contains requirements and flow charts for every major in the college. Everything from transfer credits to minors are inside the handbook.

At some point in the first year, students look through and gaze upon the liberal distribution requirements. Every engineer is required to take six liberal arts classes in order to graduate. The classes are all pre-selected and posted on a website that might actually be harder to understand than the handbook itself.

Professor Schwarz spoke about taking arts and music appreciation classes in college. He described them as “being friends that will walk with you through life.” In the 8th grade, I remember my music teacher telling our class that for some of us were taking our last music class. She was correct. I haven’t taken an art or music class since middle school. Between all the AP sciences and history classes in high school, I never had space for either.

Picking your liberal distributions can a little a tricky. Certain things are often emphasized to freshmen and sophomores about them. First, they should be classes where you get an A to help boost that ever so precious GPA. Secondly, that they shouldn’t be huge time sinks.

With these two criteria, it is easy to see why introductory economics and networks are usually chosen instead of arts and music courses.  Much easier to guarantee yourself a higher grade in a more traditional class than in a possibly subjective class. The same thing can be said about time needed for each class.

When deciding my final few liberal course, I am going to take the Professors advice, so that I can better appreciate some of the best creations in the world.

This past Wednesday I attended the talk with Dan Schwarz regarding preparation for College and beyond. The two most impact items he mentioned were getting to know your professor, and changing your academic adviser to someone that cares about you. As a result, I’ll spend my journal reflecting upon those two topics.

Dan suggested trying to get to know one professor very well each semester at college. He suggested going to their OH, saying hello in class and when ever you see them in the hallway. He also said that if you only accomplish 50% at least you know 4 professors really well. The reason this stuck with me was because it made complete sense. These people are the professionals in the field you are interested, so they are quite knowledgeable about anything you may have a question on. Additionally, when it comes to peer reviews they will be very willing to help if they know you well. Given that I’m a junior and my time is halfway done, I’ve already begun to think about post college life. As a result, I thought this talk was quite important and valuable.

He also mentioned switching your academic adviser to someone that actually cares about you. This made sense as I’ve only spoken to my adviser once, and he isn’t in the field I am most interested in. However, he is still a very nice guy, and from our one encounter he seems interested in my pursuit. Nonetheless, the talk with Dan made me realize I need to take advantage of getting to know my professors while I am here before its too late.

I recommend to anyone reading this to go talk to all the professors in you classes and get to know them ASAP.

When I began to hear Professor Schwarz talk I thought to myself “is this really useful to me?, I have already missed out on an entire year of things I was supposed to be doing.” As I sat listening, I soon realized that what he was saying was extremely important. I think that as Cornellians we forget what is really important in life and subconsciously substitute work for fun. We need to remember to live, to make mistakes and learn from them and to take risks in our life. Taking a class that seems like something we never would have approached before might lead us to discover a subject that we find truly fascinating. What I took away from this talk was that having fun and giving myself time to last is what will make my years here at Cornell so memorable and important 20 years down the road. No one wants to look back at their college years and think “Wow, all I really did was work.” Professor Schwarz really emphasized this especially encouraging us to take an economics course or to become really dedicated in one or two activities. These are supposed to be some of the best years of our lives and Professor Schwarz explained exactly how to make them memorable.

Going forward, I think I will be more conscious of the choices I make in choosing classes, joining clubs and even at my job. The idea of having fun really resonated with me. I think I forgot that while I am here, I am also supposed to have fun. I think that this talk had a great deal of meaning for everyone, regardless of what year they are and I am truly glad that I attended it.

Professor Dan Schwarz gave an inspirational and practical talk about life in college and beyond. He talked gave advice that ranged from how to begin and continue college with the end goal in mind, to time is time, do not waste it, to laugh everyday. Among all of the advice that he imparted to us, two of them really resonated with me. 

1. Get to know one professor every term. 

This is a goal that I still need to work on. During the first two years at Cornell, I have been in large introductory science and engineering courses. In these core classes, it is very hard to get to know your professor on a more personal level. It is definitely a challenge, but it is a challenge worth taking on. Professor Schwarz has motivated me to attend the professor’s office hours, and talk to my faculty advisor about my career goals.

2. Do not forget to have fun.

Cornell students are all very busy people, and it is very easy to forget to take time out of our busy schedules to have fun once in a while. This advice made me think of a friend’s advice to me. She asked: What memories do you want to take with you after you graduate? A few years from now, all of those all-nighters that you pulled trying to finish your problem set will not matter anymore. What you will remember are all of the friendships that you made, and the memories that you make with your friends here will be with you forever.

The one piece of advise that really stood out to me from Dan Schwarz’s session today was interviewing with alumni or any interviewer who hogs the conversation. I have in the past mistaken that to mean that the interviewer must really like me to be opening up so much to me. However, Mr. Schwarz has made me realize that scenarios like that eat away from my limited time to impress the interviewer and I need to focus on how to appropriately claim the conversation back to highlight my own skills.

However, beyond that, I don’t think Dan Schwarz said anything that I did not already feel like I knew how to do. Now this is not to say that his advice wasn’t superb, but rather that it could relate to the fact that he was speaking to a group of college students who are already in the habit of taking charge of their academic and career goals, as opposed to if he were speaking to less intellectually simulated students.

Also, as I happen to be a junior in college already, I felt like I was past the point in life where I could still take into account the advice he gave. Had I heard him speak as a freshmen or even early sophomore, I would have felt like I gained much more from the experience. Nonetheless, it was an absolute honor and privilege to spend time listening to such an accomplished and knowledgeable man.

In this week’s Rose cafe, professor Schwarz gave us an inspiring talk on how to succeed in college and prepare for the future. He gives us many useful tips, such as get to know professors well, take some humanities courses and plan early and carefully for graduation. Interestingly, his talk reminds me of a book I read before: ‘How to Win at College’, by Cal Newport. It surprises me that although both professor Schwarz and Newport share a lot of similar opinions, the book and the talk are pretty different and give quite different advice.

The talk feels more like giving a big picture, while the book gives more specific suggestions. Both mentioned the importance of doing research, having fun, having enough sleep, etc. But what I like more of professor Schwarz’s talk is that he gives us an idea of what students should be focusing on each college year. As a sophomore, I feel completely different as I started the new school year. I often get confused and become unsure on how to balance study, work, activities and all kinds of other opportunities. Professor Schwarz’s talk really gives me guidance on how to plan my four years(or the three years left) wisely and prepare myself for the future. The book doesn’t mention much about the goals of each year, but gives a lot of practical tips, which some I find very useful. Such tips include like how to write papers, how to prepare for tests, how to learn the most from lectures and so on.

Another amusing difference is that professor Schwarz believes everyone should have some knowledge of economics and computer science, while Newport thinks art history and astronomy are the classes everyone has to take. How interesting!

Overall, college is an amazing experience and I believe both the talk and the book give me good advice on how to live my college years to the most. As professor Schwarz said, ‘College is not about where you go, but what you make of it.’ Work hard, and have fun!

Going into this talk, knowing that it was going to be about life during and after college, I didn’t have very high expectations. Authority figures have been lecturing me about these things for as long as I can remember, and I wasn’t particularly thrilled to be going to another such talk… I was pleasantly surprised, however, by how blunt and relatable Dan Schwartz proved to be. The biggest thing I appreciated about Professor Schwartz was how candid he was about his own opinions. I’m sick of people beating around the bush, telling me that “it’s up to you” or “there’s no right answer.” While I do see value in figuring things out for yourself, I also think that hearing another’s opinions and weighing them against your own is equally beneficial.

With that in mind, I walked away with a few great life lessons….

• “Time is time” – Time is and forever will be our most valuable commodity.
• Make connections – Try to get to know at least one new professor every semester.
• Success is contingent upon the 3 “R’s”: resilience, resourcefulness, and resolve.
• You cannot change the past. Start from where you are, and move forward.

And finally, laugh 🙂

All in all, I left this talk with a greater appreciation for my time here at Cornell, and incredible respect for such an introspective, intelligent man. I’m very glad I went.

*Warning!*

To begin, I’d just like to state that I have never blogged in my entire 20 years on this planet. I’ve always thought of blogging as an activity that those who have very interesting lives or are attention hungry engage in. This opinion of mine has begun to change over the past few weeks and I simple ask that anyone who reads my posts remember that I am new to this whole blogging thing. That being said, if I make any errors (large or small) please let me know and I will correct them.

Thanks,

Clarence Boyce

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This evening at a nice little talk by Professor Dan Schwarz I was presented with several views on college life that actually challenged a few of the views I had in the recent past. I’ve just transferred to Cornell and to be honest it was a pain in the behind, the application process was simple but mustering up the grades and getting the recommendations required were not. In order to enter this school I spent a lot of time studying, doing homework, and generally avoiding anything I considered to be a distraction. This included clubs, study groups (I usually work better alone), and sports. When Professor Schwarz mentioned doing something fun everyday my first thought was that he was on to something, since coming to Cornell I’ve actually been able to have fun on a daily basis. Balance is important in all things and it is a critical life skill to cultivate as soon as possible because life will only get busier as time goes on. Also, I liked that he mentioned how students at Cornell seem to be masters of balancing school work and fun. I’ve noticed this myself and it still boggles my mind how the guy down the hall has a full class load, a girlfriend, plays on a sports team, and still manages to look wide awake at 7:30 in the morning while I look like that bum from the Aqualung album cover*. In essence, the most important lesson I received from the talk this evening was that College is a place to hone whatever skills you have and to find a way to create a balance in your life while you have the time to do so.

Alas, I must depart and continue studying for a quiz I have to take in the morning. If you feel so inclined I’d be very interested in hearing about what all of you took away from Professor Schwarz’s talk this evening.

 

 

*Aqualung is an album by the band Jethro Tull, I highly recommend it (especially the title track).*

Dan Schwarz, an English Professor at Cornell and author of Endtimes? Crises and Turmoil at the New York Times, gave an insightful talk about the undergraduate experience and how we can maximize our use of the resources, opportunities and time in college. Appropriately balancing learning, job preparation and interacting with people and the world around us will allow us to become capable individuals as we progress through life. Schwarz talked about important things to keep in mind when going through each of the four years at college, even though the Freshman portion is no longer applicable.

When it comes to college, one is typically forced to carve their own path, particularly more so than during High school. However, the points made by Schwarz and the advice he gives should be essential knowledge to all college students. One of the main points he makes is being proactive and finding opportunities that interest you or benefit you in the long run, career-wise or as a life skill. It may seem intimidating to reach out to people who essentially are strangers, and it was for me the first few weeks at Cornell because of how big the campus is, but everyone is here to help you. What you make of your experience at Cornell will define you later in life. So go out and make new friends in clubs or subjects that never interested you before. Talk to professors and get to know them on a personal level. Nobody is going to bite your head off. Everyone is likely to be understanding or in the same position you are in. Take classes in Economics even if you are bad in math because understanding how the economy works is essential skill that everyone needs in order to function in society. Oh and make sure you sleep.

What will you be doing different?

This evening I listened to Professor Dan Schwarz speak regarding his thoughts on the college experience. What I got out of this talk was that there is both an emphasis, as Professor Schwarz said and I would agree with, on seizing opportunities today but also keeping perspective on the future. Oftentimes it is very easy for people to solely focus on either a) living today like it is their last or b) planning out the future so it is perfect. The line between too much of one of the other is very fine – thus imbalance is easily the outcome.

I believe that the keys to reaching the perfect balance of seizing the day and making it count towards tomorrow are as follows:

Make connections and nurture these connections

Engage in an activity that allows you to grow as a person (i.e. a job, club)

Know what you are good at, keep practicing, and learn new things

Lastly, as Professor Schwarz said, “Everybody find a place and make a space” (I hope I didn’t botch this quote up!).

 

With these key points in mind, I believe people can successfully find opportunities today to have fun, grow, and learn while also benefitting themselves for the future.

Whether it is today or tomorrow, the final suggestion I have, which Professor Schwarz would likely endorse, is to always enjoy what you are doing. Do something that makes you feel satisfied.

 

“Time is time. It’s the commodity you have in life.”

Professor Daniel R. Schwarz’s advice ranged from practical to philosophical. He identified key goals for each year of university such as becoming involved on campus during freshman year, carefully selecting an advisor during sophomore year, taking stimulating coursework outside one’s major during junior year, and planning for graduate school or to enter industry during senior year. While none of the ideas were particularly novel, it was valuable to hear them condensed into a single, direct talk.

I have observed at Cornell a divide between professors who have been teaching here a long time and the students who grew up in an entirely different, digital age. During his talk, Professor Schwarz espoused several traditional values such as the importance of strong public speaking skills and the value of keeping a daily journal. Given this, it was surprising to me that in addition to recommending every student study the humanities and economics, he also signaled out computer literacy as a vital skill in today’s world. This statement indicated to me that the classical paradigm for a well-rounded education is shifting. (New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s recent announcement corroborates this trend.)

Professor Schwarz summarized his talk by emphasizing the importance of resiliency, resourcefulness, and resolve during college and life afterward. These attributes are certainly essential during college when students are repeatedly faced with challenges they have never experienced before. But even more important than these three key values, I think Professor Schwarz’s talk rightfully pointed out that college is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it is important to constantly reflect and evaluate whether one is spending his or her time in the best way possible.

During his talk tonight, Professor Schwarz brought up many helpful tips on finding and building success. Much of his focus revolved around involvement: leadership in clubs, working in a lab, and playing a sport, among others. He also stressed building relationships with professors and learning interview and other skills needed in the professional world. Oftentimes during the hour, however, I wondered how exactly Professor Schwarz defines success. While the following of all of these steps will make a great resume, they by no means can guarantee happiness or fulfillment. I feel that it is best not to pursue success, but rather let it come around naturally, through the following of a passion. If time is really time, why do we not focus on that at which we love and excel?

Tonight, Professor Schwarz gave a talk for the Becker-Rose weekly cafe on how to succeed in college and beyond. His presentation gave attendees a whole variety of useful insider tips on what to focus on in each year of our undergraduate years. However, I feel that the most important message of the evening was that the power to determine our college experience rests entirely in our hands. Cornell offers its students almost every possible resource imaginable – from the variety of classes offered to the broad spectrum of clubs on campus. It is now up to us to actively take advantage of it. For example, Professor Schwarz began by advising all students to get to know one professor well each term, and to shoot for a 50% success rate. With most students taking four to five classes a semester, its seems as though 100% success rate should be the norm. However, reflecting on my relationships (or lack therof) with my previous professors, this is clearly not the case. This rather surprising realization really drives home the point that there are so many amazing opportunities here that are ours for the taking and the more effort we put in, the more dividends it will pay down the road.

Additionally, I really liked the emphasis that the Professor placed on both working hard and spending our time wisely, but also having fun, and doing things that make us happy. I think that this kind of dynamic equilibrium is the key to long term success because it ensures a balance in life and a very purposeful existence. And without balance or purpose it is very easy to fall and get lost!

To conclude my first blog post, I have attached below a mini-list of inspiring pieces of advise that Professor Schwarz gave to conclude his talk. I intend to keep them in mind as the semester continues and hope to make my sophomore year a successful one!

1. Time is time

2. To deal with failure you must have reliance, resourcefulness, and resolve

3. Start where you are; you can’t change the past.

4. Laugh a lot

This week, the guest at the Rose Cafe was Daniel R. Schwarz, author of several books.  He came to speak with us about how best to get through college with regards to preparing for our futures.  He highlighted things that we should each be thinking about in each of our four years here at Cornell, and then some overall things to keep in mind as we go through college.  One thing he mentioned at the end of his talk was the three R’s: Resistance, resourcefulness, resolve.  I thought these three things were very applicable to all of us here at Cornell, and probably to all students in college.  Being resistant when things get tough, being able to make it through difficult times.  Being resourceful when something is out of reach or otherwise unattainable easily.  And resolving to do something and actually doing it.

Some of the things he mentioned seemed to apply to me less because of the career path I currently find myself on.  I plan on entering the tech industry after graduation, and in that industry I don’t need recommendations or the specific interview skills mentioned in the talk.  But it was useful to hear about taking classes outside my major, and about some specific fields where I should absolutely have some expertise — writing, humanities, and computer skills.  I have the writing and computer skills, and I am trying to take one class per semester outside of my major to enrich my knowledge in the humanities.  This semester, for example, I’m taking a course in nautical archaeology.

I hope other people, especially sophomores, got as much out of this talk as I did.  Being a junior, I’ve already made it through half of my college career, and I wish I had heard some of this earlier on in my time at Cornell so I could have spent my time even better.