Cynthia Hill ended her Rose Cafe by asking the room what we wanted to get out of college. The responses were varied and interesting.

Some had academic goals in mind, like learning to program or learning to solve engineering problems. Others had more personal goals in mind, like figuring out what they want to do with their lives.

Personally, I want to get a variety of things out of my experience at Cornell. I can already see myself growing as a member of the community. I grew up in the same small town my entire life and, although I tried, getting to connect with people very different from myself was hard to do in such a secluded environment. Cornell is so full of people with diverse backgrounds, interests, personalities, and beliefs that it is almost impossible not to get out of your comfort zone, and it is particularly easy to if that’s what you’re seeking. This exposure as well as my search for new experiences with new people at the school has helped me grow as a person and will continue to help me grow throughout my time here. I think that this is a very important thing to get out of college.

Another thing that I would like to get out of my time here is to learn how to think. This is connected to every aspect of my experience at Cornell. Not only am I learning to think analytically in my engineering classes, but I am also learning to think holistically from my classes outside of my major. In addition, interactions with different students and faculty members has helped me to think reflectively and more outwardly about my personal values and political beliefs, which is very important to do.

Overall, while I would like to be prepared for a career after my time at Cornell, I think that personal improvement is the most important thing to get out of the college experience.