I’m sure we’ve all heard over and over the saying “turn your passion into a career.” For many, this may be easy money, but for me this has always been a tough demand. I tend to ask myself: what am I passionate about? Would a career in what I’m passionate about change my passion for it for the worse? How can I be sure what I’m passionate about can be manifested into a career? All questions that are becoming more and more important as I get closer to the ~real world~ and its expectations for me to jump into a career.

Hearing from Angela Cornell, a Clinical Professor of Law, and Mary Opperman, the Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Cornell, helped me gauge how other people have (successfully) resolved these important career questions. Professor Cornell took her passion for improving society’s stance on the average worker into law school, which led her to labor law more specifically. She now actively fights for the rights of middle class workers who have been deprived of justice in the workplace. To her, daily interactions with struggling workers made her recognize the great reward that comes from winning a case on behalf of a victim of labor law. It is clear that her passion for social justice did not dwindle over time just because it became her career– rather, it excelled and led her toward more passionate work. If we truly are passionate about something, the work that comes from it will be rewarding and will invigorate our passions further.

VP Opperman recounted her time as a bartender when describing how she got into the human resources field– it was this part-time job that made her realize what she truly had a passion for: hearing people’s stories and engaging in the personal dynamics of life. And now, as one of the most important leaders at Cornell, VP Opperman understands to the fullest what it means to pursue a passion and to do it wholeheartedly. She has proved that moving up in leadership positions does not mean you have to desert your passions– she is still at the heart of the university’s decisions in safely and morally keeping our community alive during the pandemic. I am positive that her passion for working with and hearing from people is just as intact as it was in her bartender days, if not more.

These two amazing panelists at the Fellow Interview enlightened me on the way passion continuously drives how people do and should shape their careers. Passion is not found on demand, nor does it tell us exactly what career path to choose. But it does give us the motivation to be persistent in our decisions and the foundation to base our plans. Thank you to Professor Cornell and VP Opperman for sharing your stories on how you built meaningful careers out of your deepest passions.