While attending the Fellow interview conversation between Ryan Lombardi and Ken Roberts, I was able to gain more insight on the two’s history and perspective on education and the Cornell community. It is evident that faculty on campus are very committed to Cornell and the people that come out of Cornell instead of just a ranking. Being a transfer student in the Fall 2020 semester, I was not able to become accustomed to the Cornell campus and community as much as previous years, so this talk allowed me to get to know our faculty a bit more as opposed to just mass emails about campus safety. Listening to Lombardi’s commitment to Cornell and its community made me feel more apart of the community and provided me hope to being more involved next semester when things begin to shift back to some form of normalcy.

I connected with the discussion at the beginning about finding a path in college and looking for a career. Ryan and Ken both came to their jobs in indirect ways and I think its inspiring to see someone else taking a roundabout path. When I was younger I was interested in going into literature or creative writing, but as I got older I felt this pressure to do something more industrial and STEM-related. I decided to do engineering and went to college for one year in an engineering school but once I got there I realized that I was more interested in math and science over the practical parts of a degree. I ended up transferring to Cornell to study physics. In some sense I think I came back to my creative roots. The academic side of physics feels more free and creative than the engineering that I would’ve done. That being said I still worry about changing plans so much that I won’t have time to follow a path to a meaningful in depth, but hearing Ken and Ryan talk about how they ended up in a successful place makes me realize that I don’t have to worry about a final career path so early. For now I’ll just float around taking the classes I’m interested in and eventually I’ll end up in the right place for me.

It was nice getting to know Lombardi on a personal level and I enjoyed meeting Ken Roberts for the first. I wish I took the opportunities given in the past to meet more House fellows because they are such interesting people with unique stories to tell. Lombardi’s background and how he came into his position at Cornell were very inspiring to me. I think his story highlights that your goals might change and be sidetracked but it is important to work at your passion and do what you enjoy. Lombardi knew that he wanted to help kids, and he gave himself the space to explore what he really wanted to do. I want to keep this in mind for my future career goals.

I saw that Ryan Lombardi was doing a fellow interview Rose Buzz and I immediately signed up. Last semester I had an opportunity to speak and get to know Ryan. I learned more about Ryan and some fact that as well that he really wanted to be a band teacher. Ryan seems to really care about students–he even mentioned that his office co-workers can tell when he has just met with a student because it puts him in a better mood. This is what all faculty members should be like.

Ken Roberts was the other fellow and seemed very cool. Ken did international relations and work about political struggles and politics in Latin America. He also helps run the Latin American program. This was super interesting to me because I want to do work in Latin American one day.

Getting to talk with Professor Roberts and Ryan Lombardi in a more casual setting was very inspiring! I love learning about people’s backgrounds and understanding the path that got them to where they are today. For instance, it was great to hear about Ryan Lombardi’s background. He shared his past experiences before coming to Cornell, and it is apparent that he has a deep passion for helping students and for Cornell as a school. After originally considering becoming a high school music teacher, VP Lombardi decided to go into education. It is clear that he really enjoys helping others, and really cares about the students that he works with. I believe it is important to understand where people come from, and this rose house interview was a great way to get to know Ryan Lombardi in a more causal setting. Talking with VP Lombardi and Professor Roberts made me realize that it is people just like them that are making decisions for Cornell as an institution, and it is comforting to know how caring and kind individuals they are!

I’m sure you all heard about Sean Evan’s Hot Ones interview with our very own VP Ryan Lombardi. I did indeed attend because it was an opportunity I knew I couldn’t miss. When I was watching the interview, I recalled the many things I had learned about VP Lombardi at a Fellow Interview a while before and came to appreciate just how much he does for his students. Although he wanted to become a high school band director, his passion for seeing college students excel in life made him realize he could educate students in other ways than music. Now, as our VP for Student and Campus Life, he does just that: engaging with students one-on-one to have conversations about our concerns, celebrate with us in our victories, and encourage us when we feel defeated. He truly loves his students and job, even when that includes public humiliation in the form of dying from spicy hot wings. Thank you VP Lombardi for how much you care about your students and are willing to go out of your comfort zone to make our college lives memorable and sweet!

This morning, I listened to the Rose Buzz podcast featuring Ryan Lombardi and Ken Roberts.  This was originally a fellow interview that occurred on April 14th, which I was unfortunately unable to attend.  While all of the discussions, especially regarding student activism, were very interesting, my favorite part was when the two fellows discussed their childhoods and how they ended up in their current careers.  Having some insight into the previous experiences of these two individuals who are deeply connected to Cornell gives some additional perspective on how things work here.  For example, Mr. Lombardi discussed how his passion in music as a high schooler helped him develop confidence, but it was really engaging in extracurriculars in college that helped shape his identity; as such, he does his best to develop similar opportunities for current Cornell students to find their passion as well.  Additionally, I thought it was super interesting that Mr. Lombardi is the only one who responds to his own email.  It really shows that Cornell is a one-of-a-kind place if the members of its administration are so easily accessible!

It was really interesting to get to know more about Professor Ken Roberts and Vice President Ryan Lombardi.  It was great to hear them talk about their journeys from being in college to where they are now and how they feel about activism at Cornell.  They support and encourage students to have an active voice, to speak up about issues that matter to them.  It was also great to hear how much Vice President Lombardi cares about the student population.  I was pleasantly surprised by how open he is to meeting with students, telling all of us that if we wanted to connect with him, all we had to do was send him an email and he will get back to us.  I really appreciate how much he cares about us as it can sometimes feel like higher up administrators anywhere have no time to connect to the student populations.

In this Rose Buzz, it was incredibly enlightening to listen to Ryan Lombardi and Ken Roberts. Ryan Lombardi was especially interesting to listen to and learn about him than simply know him as the person who sends emails to my inbox every week. Furthermore, it was amazing how Ryan Lombardi said that if any student wanted to, they could come to go talk to him and even grab a coffee/lunch with him. All that student needs to do is to send an email to him to start that relationship. This made me realize how much Ryan Lombardi cares for his students by making time for tens of thousands of students at Cornell. Growing up, I knew some teachers who would avoid their students outside of the classroom, and these teachers had only a few students compared to the vast amount of students who know/look up to Ryan Lombardi. This made me respect Ryan to a whole another level, and I hope other people in Cornell’s administration are similar to him. All it takes is that one figure that can change your life for the better. For example, my European History teacher would always make one-on-one time for his students and encouraged students to see him. Since he did that, it helped me greatly in learning the material, writing better, and creating long-term goals outside of the classroom. Without him, I may not be where I am today.

I always enjoy listening to VP Lombardi talk. In the fall he sat down for a rose scholars event and listened to our concerns about the fall semester and wanted to hear our ideas for the spring semester. I always get the feeling that he really does care about us and is trying his best. Every time I hear him discuss his career path it is refreshing to hear how frequently his changed and that he is happy and successful. I have changed my mind many times about the direction I want to take my life and it gives me hope that everything will work out just fine!

Vice President Lombardi gave some insightful advice during this talk that resonated with me. In terms of looking for a career, you want to look for a career that brings opportunities and has room for flexibility as you evolve in this occupation. As I try to figure out what I want to do career-wise, I hope to find a career that brings me excitement, but also allows me to grow and rise up in leadership and be a mentor for others.

VP Lombardi also emphasized the fact that our student body is multifaceted. Many Cornellians have diverse interests other than their field of study. For many students, these interests include activism. I think it is important that college students have the space to advocate for issues they are passionate about. History shows that many movements are driven by young people; i.e. voting rights, civil rights, gun violence activism, anti-war activism, etc. VP Lombardi says we should celebrate activism not criticize it. This is important because without activism, life and society remains stagnant, and there’s no room for progress.

After attending a similar Rose Interview in the fall, I thought I would also attend this interview with Ryan Lombardi and Professor Roberts. What struck me the most was Lombardi’s commitment to students and to Cornell. For such a large university, I think it is rare to have a resource to which everyone can use and can expect responses from. From both interviewees, it was inspiring how much the student’s voices mattered to both of them, and certainly an indication of how much they care about Cornell’s students.

Today I attended the most recent recording of Rose Buzz featuring Ryan Lombardi and Professor Ken Roberts.  I was very excited for this episode, as I always love hearing from Ryan Lombardi at Rose Scholars events and was interested in learning more about him as well as about Ken Roberts.  Their discussion was really interesting and I really appreciated their advice to students.  One part of the conversation that stood out was their discussion of student activism.  Roberts spoke about this from his point of view of someone who has studied Government and social movements, and Lombardi spoke about this from the point of view of the administration, which is at times is what students are against.  It was interesting hearing about this and the importance that they both place on hearing student’s voices.  They both really seem to care about students and what they have to say.  At the end, they gave some advice to students and talked about what they liked and disliked about the university (they both said they didn’t have a “least favorite” part!).  I thought it was really interesting how Lombardi said that he is saddened by how prevalent the idea of impostor syndrome is among students because he sees us all as being very capable and in an amazing position to be at a university such as Cornell in the first place.  Hearing this from him was definitely a really good reminder to put things into perspective a bit, and it was nice to hear that he really cares about students.

Today’s interview with Vice President Ryan Lombardi and Professor Kenneth Roberts taught me several important things about themselves and Cornell. Mr. Lombardi states that even when every single workday consists of many meetings, he always makes time to communicate with students. If any student emails him a question he will make sure to answer it, regardless of how busy his day is. I saw this as his commitment to making sure that all students in Cornell are heard if they have any questions regarding student and campus life. In addition, it was encouraging listening to Professor Roberts acknowledge that many students are taking the right step in the community by making their voices heard on social media and in socially distanced areas about current social issues. They both ended the interview by motivating us to pursue our passions and to never give up, so let’s finish this semester off strong!