Author Archives: Alex Strandberg

Comparing the U.S. and U.K. Through Sports

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On Wednesday, I went to the Rose Cafe hosted by Mr. Paul Wilcox, the Honorary Secretary of the Achilles Club – a club for Oxford and Cambridge track and field athletes. It was interesting to learn about what it was like to be an athlete in the late 1890s and 1900s. I learned that the Transatlantic Series had brought a team across the Atlantic before the Olympic games had started.

We learned about some important figures in these competitions, namely Charles Sherrill, who pioneered the crouched starting position for running in 1894. Eddie Gourdin, an African-American, set the world record for long jump: 25 ft, 3 in – a huge win. Another record was Roger Bannister running a mile in under 4 minutes. The many photos and videos that Mr. Wilcox showed us truly captured these momentous occasions, while also showing how these competitions have changed over the years, along with athletic clothing and training methods.

Mr. Wilcox brought up what an experience it was for a team to travel together across an ocean on a ship for a week. They had the opportunity to see a different culture and perspective. He also discussed some differences between the U.S. and U.K., particularly greetings and donating to your alma mater. In the U.S., it is strongly encouraged to donate to your alma mater, yet frowned upon in the U.K. Attitudes are also different: asking “How are you” to an American may bring a “Pretty good” response, while in the U.K., one may respond “Not too bad.”

Overall, this talk broadened my understanding of athletics from an international perspective. I learned quite a lot, especially how much training is required to excel as a world-class athlete in track and field. I look forward to future Rose Cafes to keep expanding my knowledge.

Brazil in Transition

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On Wednesday, I went to the Rose Cafe hosted by Andre Simores, an agricultural economist and professor from Brazil.  He began his talk by providing a primarily geographical overview of Brazil, telling us some interesting facts, such as Brazil being the fifth largest country by population.  Simores then discussed the current political climate in Brazil, along with agricultural questions surrounding his research.  

Brazil is diverse in many ways, geographically in particular.  There’s Mato Grosso, with its wetlands, the Amazon rainforest, and Caatinga, an arid area.  Brazil is also economically diverse, with an economy based not only on agriculture, but also aerospace engineering, among others.  For example, Embraer, which is based in Brazil, is the world’s third largest airplane manufacturer, specializing in smaller jets.  

Unfortunately, Brazil has a high degree of inequality, with its northeast part being the poorest.  Yet, Simores would describe Brazil not as a developing country, but rather a country in transition.  After twenty years of a military dictatorship, Brazil has implemented democratic reforms.  Yet, this transition is not without its challenges.  The past two presidents have been impeached for scandals involving corruption and money laundering.  Although power has transitioned peacefully between presidents, Brazil faces mounting obstacles, including high debt and a struggling economy.  In addition to economic struggles, Brazil’s education system favors the rich who can afford private school before heading to the public universities.  

Simores finished his talk by emphasizing how stability is critical to maintaining quality of life everywhere, not just Brazil.  Agriculture faces a volatile market and spot pricing.  I learned that the U.S., for example, will buy excess milk to keep prices stable.  The surplus milk is turned into powdered milk or cheese, and often is served in public schools.  Simores is studying the relationship between dairy farms and processors.  

Overall, this talk gave me a better perspective of the world, and I learned a great deal about life in Brazil.  I was surprised to hear that lunch is the main daily meal, not dinner like in the U.S.  I look forward to future Rose Cafes to keep furthering my perspective and understanding of the world.  

Acing the Interview

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On Thursday, I attended the Rose Seminar on interview tips.  Although I have interviewed for on-campus and job opportunities since coming to Cornell, this event really solidified my understanding and offered many helpful tips.  We had the opportunity to discuss our own interview experiences with GRF Sara and ask her for advice based on her substantial interview experience.  

She organized the seminar into three main parts: before, during, and after the interview.  In the first part, she emphasized applying for positions broadly but not indiscriminately and thinking about how the jobs we are applying for fit our career trajectory.  Then, during the interview, she stressed taking note of the company’s culture and office mood, while carefully listening to the interviewer and asking him/her meaningful questions.  It is a good idea to ask your interviewer to explain his/her career progression and to show interest in learning about the role the person performs.  Lastly, Sara brought up an important point for after the interview: write thank you notes to everyone you meet.  A short and simple email goes a long way in leaving a positive impression.  

One of our talking points was whether we should carefully practice what we are going to say during the interview, keeping in mind what questions will likely be asked.  In my experience, I’ve always found it helpful to organize important examples and other topics/information you wish to discuss, while trying to avoid sounding rehearsed or artificial.  

I really enjoyed this Rose Seminar, as well as all the prior ones, since they will help me to put my best foot forward in my future career endeavors.  Sara ended the seminar with a list of potential interview questions.  A question that stumped me was, “If you were an animal, what kind would you be?”  I’ll have to get back to you on that…  

The Impact of Fats Beyond Nutrition

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On Wednesday, I attended the Rose Cafe hosted by Jonathan Robins, a nutrition historian.  Instead of discussing fats on a nutritional level, he explained the role of fats in the world food system.  Since there are many different kinds of fats that are often interchangeable in food preparation, the extraction and selling of fats plays a major role in the global economy.  

Robins emphasized how various fats gained and lost popularity over time.  For example, the extraction of fat from animals (whales in particular) decreased significantly in the 1960s, leading to the rise of vegetable oils and fats (such as canola oil).  Another topic was the rivalry between fats from tropical regions (palm and coconut) over fats produced in the US (soybean).  There was an effort to avoid tropical fats since the soybean was vital to the US economy with the federal government investing heavily through farm subsidies.  

We also discussed the impact of public perception on the food industry while scientists researched whether cholesterol or saturated fats were bad for your health in the 1950s.  The federal government’s role has been to provide dietary guidelines over strict regulations in the past 40 years.  However, a notable exception is the banning of trans fats greater than 1 gram.  I learned that trans fats are produced artificially, by combining various kinds of fat into a generic mix.  

Robins emphasized that nutrition standards are constantly changing, but that we should be mindful of where the fats we consume are coming from, with various ecological impacts.  For example, palm trees yield more oil and fat per acre compared to coconut and soybean plants, suggesting that palm trees are better for the environment because they require fewer acres of land (and less trees cut down for farmland).  

Overall, this talk helped further develop my understanding of nutrition, particularly from a historical perspective.  The topics we discussed connected with previous Rose Cafes on other aspects of nutrition, and I hope to continue learning in this area in the future.  

Home Economics and Nutrition

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On Wednesday, I attended the Rose Cafe hosted by Jane Ziegelman, a food historian and author of A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression.  She discussed how home economists came into the spotlight during the Great Depression to modernize America’s eating habits and educate Americans about nutrition.  

During this time period, home economists discovered the importance of vitamins such as Vitamins A, B, and D to good eating and the prevention of deficiency diseases.  Ziegelman also explained how NYC public schools found that many students were not attending classes in 1930.  Truant officers discovered that the primary cause was children being too weak from hunger to leave the house.  To help combat this, the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration was established to provide enough food for a minimal living standard, with a significant quantity of milk, along with bread, potatoes, and beans.  Many cookbooks and dietary guidelines were written and radio programs were broadcast to promote preparing nutritious meals.  

This talk furthered the discussion from the February 1 Rose Cafe with Eileen Keating: both lectures explained how Flora Rose developed cereals fortified with calcium and vitamins  (Milkorno, Milkoato, and Milkwheato) and sold them to the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, thereby influencing American nutritional habits.  Nutritionists continue to identify aspects of food that should be avoided, as scientific knowledge continues to progress in this area.  For example, there was a push to limit fat significantly from food, but this led to an increase in sugar to give food taste.  

Towards the end of the discussion, Professor Blalock brought up that during the Great Depression, 25 percent of families’ incomes were spent on food, compared to the 9 percent of annual income spent today on food.  We discussed how our society has developed an ambivalence towards food in many ways due to its abundance, and made me appreciate how fortunate I am to be food-secure.  People during the Great Depression could not afford expensive food, like meat; meanwhile, today, I can choose from a wide variety of food at one of Cornell’s many eateries.  

Which Pill Would You Take?

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On Friday, Flora’s Friday Film showed The Matrix, a 1999 science fiction movie depicting a dystopia in which humans live in a computer simulation created by sentient machines to control humans.  Thomas Anderson (Neo) is a computer programmer who works at a highly-regarded software company, but believes that something is wrong with the world in which he lives.  He reluctantly joins Morpheus and his crew to escape from the Matrix after discovering the truth of mankind’s current state of existence.  A particularly striking technological advancement in the film was the ability for people to gain knowledge and skills (such as martial arts) from a wide array of disks.

The film raised several important questions, which we discussed with GRF Magdala after the movie.  For example, do people in the Matrix have control over their destiny, since they are in a carefully-programmed computer simulation?  As a computer science major, I felt a strong connection to the movie, realizing the impact software has on our lives.  In addition, this film is particularly relevant today, with the rise of virtual and augmented reality technology which enables us to enter other realities, similar to the Matrix.  The last topic we discussed was whether we would take the red pill (as Neo did to join Morpheus and the crew and leave the Matrix) or the blue pill (and return to our current way of life, living in a simulation).  I think I would exhibit the same reservations that Anderson did, but ultimately would take the red pill to try and free humanity.  What would you do?

The Art of the Personal Statement

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On Thursday, I attended the Rose Seminar entitled “Personal Statements Workshop.”  Unlike the cover letter covered in the previous Rose Seminar, I had no idea what a personal statement was and how essential it was to applying to graduate programs and many jobs.  This event built a strong foundation for understanding personal statements and offered many helpful tips.  

Dr. Hill and GRF Magdala first explained some general aspects of the application process for graduate programs and many jobs.  For example, I learned that many companies, particularly financial institutions, perform keyword searches on resumes and cover letters submitted by applicants, often not moving forward with a particular application if keywords that the company deems important fail to appear in the application materials.  Then, Dr. Hill shared an overview of applying to graduate school in both the U.S. and the U.K.  He likened the personal statement to writing a project proposal to the school, sharing your motivation and what you hope to accomplish with the program.  He explained how finding a faculty member who could potentially be your supervisor is essential in the U.K, while in the U.S., there are committees and advisors involved in the process.  

GRF Magdala described one of her personal statements, which gave a concrete example of how her experience in France prepared her well for what she wanted to do in graduate school.  Another tip is trying to identify a trajectory and show that you will continue on that path.  In addition, showing that you can and have taken on responsibility is essential, using action verbs.  

Dr. Hill and GRF Magdala also had tips after writing a personal statement.  For example, they stressed finding out a recruiter’s or professor’s name to provide a personal salutation on your application materials, as opposed to the generic “Dear Sir or Madam.”  Also, they underscored naming documents properly with your name (not “Resume.pdf”) in addition to uploading PDFs as opposed to Word documents to guarantee proper formatting.  Dr. Hill described his proven technique of starting a personal statement with a “nugget” – a snapshot of a concrete example that is not fully explained until the very end, after main part of your personal statement.  Finally, he highlighted that the time is now to contact professors and form relationships, since this cannot be done as easily after graduating.  

This event was the second in a series of Rose Seminars on job applications.  I look forward to attending future seminars and polishing these skills.  

The Cover Letter: Tips and Tricks

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On Thursday, I attended the Rose Seminar entitled “The Secret Behind the Cover Letter.”  Although I had some idea on the purpose of cover letters and how they are written prior to the seminar, this event really solidified my understanding and offered many helpful tips.  We also had the opportunity to try writing a cover letter or resume and have it reviewed by Dr. Cynthia Hill and GRF Shiv.  

They emphasized important aspects of writing a resume first, since it provides the foundation for the cover letter and plays a crucial role in the job application process.  One of the most important things I learned was keeping a master record of all of your accomplishments, and then working on resume versions tailored to each job application.  Dr. Hill particularly emphasized that your cover letter should be concise and make you stand out, while creating a narrative as to why you would be a good fit for the position.  I also learned that you should keep relevant accomplishments on your resume when applying for a job, even if the accomplishment is an older one (from high school, for example).  Dr. Hill and GRF Shiv also stressed trying to reach out to current employees if possible to show interest and learn more about the company, since networking strongly increases the chances of being hired for a job.  

This seminar highlighted that even if you don’t meet every qualification for a job posting, that you should still apply.  After all, there is always a way to demonstrate that your past accomplishments and interests align with a prospective employer’s requirements.  This event was the first of the several planned Rose Seminars on job applications.  I look forward to attending these events later in the semester and sharpening these skills.  

Cornell Ahead of Its Time: Women’s Higher Education

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Eileen Keating hosted an enlightening discussion about Cornell’s role in the early transformation of women’s lives in the U.S.  In particular, she provided an awareness of the origins of the College of Human Ecology, and how influential Flora Rose and Martha Van Rensselaer were in empowering women through a pioneering home economics program.  This program flourished and soon outgrew its original small building quickly, leading to the construction of Martha Van Rensselaer Hall.  Susan B. Anthony’s inspiration and Eleanor Roosevelt’s ability to secure funding, helped make the college what it is today.  

In the early 1900s, the College of Home Economics served as the catalyst for women to begin attending higher education.  This grew out of a questionnaire distributed in 1900 asking farmers’ wives what they needed.  They sought ways to improve their daily lives.  The women in the college were not charged tuition and they were taught by an all-female faculty.  The college offered these women opportunities focused on applied science, child-rearing, and family life.  

The college’s classes were first held in the building now known as the Computing and Communications Center in 1912.  The rapid success of the program led to the need for a larger building to solve the overcrowding issue.  During the Great Depression, Cornell sought funding from the FDR administration.  The US government would only provide half of the requested million dollars for the new building’s construction.  However, the wife of FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, ensured that Flora Rose and Martha Van Rensselaer would receive the remaining funds soon after.  Flora Rose and Eleanor Roosevelt developed a strong relationship, and Roosevelt insisted that Rose be dean of the College of Home Economics.  In addition, Roosevelt attended the Farm and Home Week state fair on Cornell’s campus for many years to show her support for Rose’s efforts.  In the 1930s, Rose even influenced American nutritional habits with the development of cereals fortified with calcium and vitamins (Milkorno, Milkoato, and Milkwheato); she sold them to the Federal Emergency Relief Administration.  

Overall, Flora Rose and Martha Van Rensselaer helped bring about a transformation of women’s roles in the twentieth century by offering them new educational opportunities.  They helped put Cornell at the forefront of women pursuing higher education, furthering Ezra Cornell’s mission of “Any person, any study.”