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LAUREN KORFINE: Please welcome the faculty of the College of Human Ecology, led by Professor Pat Cassano.
[APPLAUSE]
Please welcome the graduating class of 2023.
[APPLAUSE]
["POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE" PLAYING]
The guests are in their places. The faculty are in their places. The graduates are in their places. It's time to begin. Everyone may be seated. Yeah, OK.
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We would like to begin by acknowledging the history and the current truth about the beautiful land that we live and learn on and upon which we gather today. Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogoho:no people. The Gayogoho:no are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land.
The Confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York State, and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogoho:no dispossession and honor the ongoing connection of the Gayogoho:no people, past and present, to these lands and waters. And we welcome members of Indigenous nations who are here with us today.
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My name is Lauren Korfine, and I am the interim senior associate dean for Undergraduate Affairs in the College of Human Ecology. And I am truly honored and delighted to welcome you to the Human Ecology Commencement Ceremony this morning.
I hope you've all been having a really wonderful and meaningful weekend. And it's just such a delight to be together this morning. Commencement is just like-- it's a singularly joyful event. And we're grateful to be together this morning to welcome you to join with our college community to celebrate this wonderful accomplishment for our graduates and to recognize each graduate individually.
A special thanks to the Human Ecology Commencement Committee, led by Tracey Thompson over there, who arranged this entire event. I also want to thank and acknowledge the many members of Human Ecology staff who volunteered to assist with this event today, all the people in red shirts. Thank you all so much.
[APPLAUSE]
So at this time, I was supposed to be introducing Dean Rachel Dunifon, who is our beloved dean who leads this college with vision and integrity and wisdom and kindness. And Dean Dunifon is unfortunately quite sick and incredibly sad not to be able to be here with us today. She sends all of you her warmest wishes and her most hearty congratulations. For Dean Dunifon, yes. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
I do have the tremendous privilege of introducing Professor Pat Cassano, the Alan D. Mathios professor and the director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences, here to speak with us on her own behalf and on behalf of Dean Dunifon. Professor Cassano is an epidemiologist whose research focuses on how nutrients interact with the human genome to affect the risk of chronic disease.
She's also the director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on Nutrition Research for Health at Cornell, and she leads a summer institute on systematic reviews and nutrition for global policymaking. Please help me to welcome Professor Pat Cassano to the podium.
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PAT CASSANO: Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be here today. Welcome, everyone. It's my honor to introduce the student speaker, Madelyn Yu. Madelyn is a Fashion Design and Management major, concentrating in Product Development and minoring in Business and Climate Change. She's passionate about sustainability and size inclusivity within the fashion industry.
During her time at Cornell, Madelyn has been involved in a number of organizations within Human Ecology. She has designed for the Cornell Fashion Collective's annual fashion show and served as the president of the Cornell Fashion Industry Network, where she re-instituted the annual Fashion Speaks Gala, which is an in-person gala. The event hosted a number of industry professionals and was attended by over 150 students, also including faculty and alumni.
Additionally, Madelyn has been involved with research, working in the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection. Under the leadership of Professor Green and Professor Blumenkamp, Madelyn aided in curating exhibitions and set up software to virtually share 3D scans of all exhibits.
Outside of Human Ecology, Madelyn studied abroad in London and is a member of Callbaxx, a treble acapella group where she composes the vocal percussion beat boxes. In her free time, Madelyn loves adventuring to Frosty Cow for ice cream and trying to pet all of the Guiding Eyes foster puppies. After graduation, Madelyn will be joining Bloomingdale's in New York City as an assistant buyer. Please help me welcome Madelyn to the stage.
[APPLAUSE, CHEERING]
MADELYN YU: Thank you so much, Professor Cassano, for the kind introduction and for the honor of speaking here today. Hello, everyone. I am thrilled and absolutely floored to be here today, surrounded by my friends and classmates, who inspire me each and every day with their brains, accomplishments, and kindness.
I know that our journey at Cornell certainly wasn't the smoothest, and at moments, it looked a bit grim that we would ever make it to this day in person. However, we have persevered, and we have stuck together, even through a computer screen. And I am incredibly proud of us for making it here today. Thank you to each and every one of you for making our Cornell career such a success.
[APPLAUSE]
I also would like to thank the Human Ecology faculty and staff for supporting us through our journey and helping us grow into the graduates that we are today. Specifically, I would like to thank Professor Green and Professor Blumenkamp for mentoring and inspiring me within the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection and volunteering your time and vehicles to transport mannequins back and forth across campus.
I also would like to thank Professor Kozen for teaching five separate courses throughout my undergraduate education, answering all my emails about CFIN at record-breaking speeds and for nominating me to speak here today.
Finally, I'd like to thank all the parents, families, friends, mentors, partners, and chosen families that are gathered here with us today to celebrate our graduation. It is your unconditional love, encouragement, support, and sacrifices that have been essential in us reaching this major milestone. I'd like to thank my family for being here today and filming me right now for my family that couldn't make it and for my boyfriend who's graduating at the exact same moment right now. Great timing.
But more importantly, thank you to my mom for accompanying me on a tour of Cornell five years ago and very enthusiastically tracking down the Human Ecology building once the tour guide announced that they have a fashion program here. And thank you to my dad for sitting me down in front of the clocktower on Cornell days when I was crying and second guessing if I belonged here but reassuring me that Cornell was 100% the place for me. Because although I probably will not admit this again for a long time, you were right just this one, Dad.
Cornell's motto of any person, any study greatly reflects the distinctive and unparalleled offerings at Human Ecology. And personally, I believe we are graduating from the very best school at Cornell. I mean, we have human bonding, which personally has made me a monster when it comes to giving my friends relationship advice.
We have the Cornell Fashion Collective annual fashion show, one of the, if not the, most anticipated events on campus each year. And we had food for contemporary living, which I hear has a crazy waitlist for the only on-campus cooking class in Toni Morrison Dining Hall. And finally, we have a lot of Pet a Puppy days. And trust me, I know I go to every single one.
And this is what human ecology is now. It is a place that constantly aims to improve human lives. And it's the people within human ecology that have made it so incredibly successful. I've had the pleasure of meeting so many of these people throughout my Cornell career. Within my major, I've met my best friends, who were always there as a study buddy or a group project partner.
Within the Cornell Fashion Industry Network, I've been connected with a vast network of alumni who've provided me invaluable career advice. In my acapella group, I made friends across all corners of campus who have reignited my passion for performing. And within the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection, I've had the pleasure of meeting a number of artifact donors, each with such a unique connection to human ecology and its unique history.
I'm sure many of you here know this today, but Human Ecology was originally established as the College of Home Economics, educating students in areas that we still study today-- human development, health care, design, and nutrition. During my time here, I've had the privilege, after thoroughly washing my hands, to physically touch this history within the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection.
Our collection holds over 10,000 items of textiles, clothing, and accessories, including a gown made within the Cornell Human Ecology costume shop worn by Martha Van Rensselaer, who's one of the founders of our college. She spoke at a White House conference.
We have a dress worn by Eleanor Roosevelt, who was pivotal in establishing the College of Home Economics, which she wore at her husband Franklin Roosevelt's second inauguration ball. And there's even a stole, like the ones we're wearing today, that was worn on Cornell's 150th anniversary by Logan Kenny as they carried the Human Ecology flag on Charter Day.
At first, you look at these items and they're just textiles. But in context, they humanize our history. The most valuable quote I have ever heard comes from a former street photographer at Vogue, Bill Cunningham, who states that "fashion is the armor to survive everyday life." And I could not agree more.
On these textiles, there's sweat stains, wine spills, scuff marks, all things that the textiles have physically protected us from. But then there's the feelings that we have when we wear a garment, like comfort or confidence or even nostalgia, which are things that help us survive mentally and emotional. It just shows how human all of this.
These garments tell the story of the people that defined our school. And one day, we might be in the collection, too, because our garments define our era of human ecology, and that is a story worth telling. In 50 years, someone could curate an exhibit on the class of 2023 or the COVID-19 pandemic or maybe even the era of TikTok and ChatGPT.
And in the collection, they may find the extra masks that Ruth always carried in her bag and handed out to her friends when someone forgot theirs at home. Maybe the shirt Maria altered for her very first homecoming and wore every subsequent year. There's the jacket Fiona made for her Intro to Fashion Design class that became a staple in her wardrobe every fall. And maybe even the tights, although they tend to be a conservation nightmare due to the elastic, that I surrendered off my legs to Mel's runway model 30 minutes before the CFC Fashion Show because she forgot hers at home.
Together, these garments will illustrate a chapter in the story of Cornell and within our own lives. But today, we close that chapter. But we start an even bigger one-- what the heck to do with ourselves after graduating. This transition won't be easy. I mean, personally, I'm terrified for tasks like finding an apartment, commuting to work, and moving away from the people I have spent every September through May through for the past four years.
Although I'm literally terrified, I'm also excited. Through our time at Cornell, we have proven to be resilient humans, full of courage, confidence, and character, and with the capability to truly change the world for the better, just as human ecology has taught us to do.
Although we may move thousands of miles or only 10 minutes away from campus, our clothing will continue to serve as the armor to survive everyday life. It will hold on to the friendships and the memories that we made here over the past four years and help us build new ones as we write the next chapter in the class of 2023. Congratulations to everyone on this momentous achievement, and thank you so much.
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PAT CASSANO: Thank you so much, Madelyn, for that wonderful speech. Well, hello, Human Ecology class of 2023. Yay.
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It's truly my honor to represent our wonderful Dean Rachel Dunifon. I'm so excited to celebrate this important milestone with you today. As we reflect on all you've experienced and accomplished during your time here, I know you didn't do it alone. So let's have round of applause for your parents, families, friends, and all those who supported you during your time at Human Ecology.
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This morning, I'm joined here on stage by our wonderful Human Ecology faculty and staff, whose mentorship, knowledge, patience, and faith in you played a pivotal role in your Human Ecology experience. So let's thank them as well.
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And while we're thanking people, I want to thank you, all of you, for all that you've given to the Human Ecology community. I and my colleagues here learned and grew so much as a result of knowing you. Throughout your time here, people may have asked you, what is human ecology? It's a question we hear a lot.
I'd like to say that human ecology is the home of the human experience. Human ecology is where people come together to study the complexity of human life, from the food we eat and our metabolism to the clothing we wear, the buildings we inhabit, and the families, neighborhoods, and communities in which we live, a place where we collectively seek to make long-lasting change. What makes human ecology unique and so critical to the world today is that we consider the full context of the human experience in all its messy glory to fulfill our mission of improving lives.
Human ecology was also the home of your human experience here at Cornell. And for many of you, human ecology literally entered your homes for a while there, thinking back to your first year at Cornell, which was interrupted right when you were starting to get settled here on campus. When the university shut down, you had to try to be a college student from your childhood bedrooms, from your cars, from your porches, and many other locations, blurring the lines between what was your new college life and your former home.
In the meantime, those of us who stayed in Ithaca learned firsthand what the saying means-- a house is not a home without the people in it. Campus just wasn't the same without you, and we were so happy when we were able to welcome you back to the college. We have, in my opinion, the most beautiful college on campus and the most beautiful buildings. But these buildings are really like hollow shells without the people in them to bring them to life.
So while your time in Human Ecology was different from every other class before you, you also share a common bond with our Human Ecology community past, present and future. As graduates of Human Ecology, you join almost 100 years of alumni who made the college their home, each in their own way. And if I had to use one word to describe our alumni, it would be trailblazers.
Throughout our history, Human Ecology has been a home for trailblazing faculty, staff, and students. Our proud heritage, as Madelyn was alluding to, includes Cornell's first female faculty members, the first African American woman to receive a PhD at Cornell, the first female dean, and many more innovators, champions, and pioneers, just like all of you.
So what trails will you blaze from here? Being a trailblazer means doing things differently, forging your own path. That means you might get dirty and bruised. It might be tough along the way. You'll experience some stumbles and setbacks. You may meet resistance from those who are set in their ways, those who are used to the safe and well-worn path. As a human ecology trailblazer, you won't be like everyone else, and you will definitely experience and discover new and amazing things.
I had the chance to do some trailblazing of my own during my time at Cornell as the first female director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences. Like any journey, it brought challenges aplenty, including leading my unit through the constant change that defined the pandemic. But at many times along the way, when the path was not clear, endurance was definitely a requirement. The rewards have been incredible, too, and the opportunity to contribute to my academic community makes it all worthwhile.
As you begin the next phase of your lives, there will be times when you can't see a way forward. But you will create one, and you will blaze the trails of your own. Like any trailblazer, you're going to need to bring a few things with you, besides water, sunscreen, and some really healthy snacks. And yes, I am a mom and also a nutrition and health nut.
But here are three things for you to take with you on your journey. The first is bravery. You've already proven that you can do hard things. You've had many challenges in your time here, and you'll face more challenges in the years ahead. We all do. But I'm so proud of how brave you are. There will be times when you're scared, maybe terrified, as Madelyn was describing. We all are sometimes. Remind yourself of how strong you are. Dig deep, and keep exploring.
The next thing you'll need is empathy. None of us can fully know another person's path, where they came from, or where they're going. But we can be curious about their experience, open to other's ideas and perspectives, and assume the best intentions motivate the others that we meet along the way.
The last thing is people. Be intentional about who you bring along with you on your journey, prioritizing friendships and relationships. These are the people who will encourage you, encourage you to keep going and to reach your goals. Just like anything else, relationships take work, an investment that is absolutely worth it.
If you're sitting here wondering how you too can become a trailblazer, don't worry. Having watched you learn and grow during your time in Human Ecology, and by the power vested in me as the dean's stand-in, I can tell you that you are already trailblazers. You have everything that you need in your tool kit now, and you're going to keep adding to that tool kit as you go along.
You're ready to take all that you've learned and done here in Human Ecology to create your own exciting, scary, and totally worth it path. As you set out on your path ahead, please stay in touch and come back to visit our beautiful campus so that we can celebrate with you as you blaze your own trail from your Human Ecology home. On behalf of Dean Dunifon and the faculty, congratulations, class of 2023.
[APPLAUSE]
LAUREN KORFINE: Thank you so much, Professor Cassano, for those beautiful and inspiring words.
OK, we will now proceed with the presentation of the graduates. So first, we're going to present students receiving graduate degrees, grouped by degree and department. Next, we're going to present the students receiving bachelor degrees, who will be grouped by major.
How it's going to work is after I introduce each student, the student will cross the stage and be greeted by a faculty member from their program and Professor Cassano to congratulate them. We have a professional photographer here who will take a picture of each graduate as they're greeted. And graduates will receive a congratulatory certificate. The actual diplomas will be mailed.
We will also have opportunity to have pictures with faculty after the ceremony. If you are taking additional photographs, which, of course, you're going to take additional photographs, just please be careful not to get in the way of our photographer here or the flow of students through the aisle. We're going to try to keep a flow going so everyone can proceed safely.
OK. So before I begin to read the names, I just want to extend a special congratulations to my own beloved students. Because my job here is to keep the flow, I'm going to save all my personal greetings and hugs and probably some tears until after the ceremony. But as I call your name, just please know that my heart is going to be full to bursting with deep affection and so much pride. OK, yeah.
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So exciting. OK. We will now award graduate degrees for the College of Human Ecology. Greeting degree recipients is Nancy Wells, senior associate dean for Research and Graduate Education.
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[READING NAMES]
We will now award undergraduate degrees from the Division of Nutritional Sciences. Greeting the degree recipients in the majors of Global and Public Health, Human Biology Health and Society, and Nutritional Sciences is Professor Pat Cassano, director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences.
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[READING NAMES]
Going to take a moment and take a sip.
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OK. We will now award undergraduate degrees from the Department of Human Centered Design. Greeting degree recipients in the majors of Design and Environmental Analysis, Fiber Science and Apparel is Yasser Gowayed, department chair.
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[READING NAMES]
Thank you. We will now award undergraduate degrees from the Department of Psychology. Greeting degree recipients in the major of Human Development is Professor Felix Thoemmes, department chair.
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[READING NAMES]
[APPLAUSE, HORN BLOWING]
I present to you happy people the class of 2023.
[APPLAUSE, CHEERING]
[HORN BLOWING]
We got a couple more things to do. Everyone sit back down. Congratulations, all of you. I knew some of you. And those of you I haven't had the pleasure of knowing, I've been studying your names this week. So I feel like we have an incredible bond that you didn't even know about.
[LAUGHTER]
[APPLAUSE]
So after we conclude the ceremony, please, everyone, join us for a reception in the Ramin Room, which is that way. Just follow the crowd. Please, please stay to join us. I'm going to go slightly off script for just a minute-- sorry, Tracey-- because this class has a lot of personal meaning for me in my own journey. And I wanted to just share a word of-- I don't know-- a final word of blessing.
When we sent the students scattering in the spring of 2020, a lot of us said, oh, no, the seniors, who wouldn't get to have this day. And then in the next breath, we said, oh, no, the first years. They just got here. And we were all devastated for you.
And I had my own children-- my son was Cornell class of 2020. So he was a senior that year. And my daughter was a first year student at another university. So I was living both of those things in real time. And I know that we-- and I'm talking to all of you family members and friends-- we have been in collaboration together all these years to bring these students through. And I'm grateful to you for collaborating with us in this way as we try to shepherd them to the next stage in hard times.
[APPLAUSE]
So I found a letter that I had written to my seniors that year on this weekend when they were supposed to be here, when their families were supposed to be doing this. And it was a really sad weekend. But so I invited them to give themselves a little time to reflect, and I'd like to invite you all to do that, too. Give yourselves a little time to reflect on your time at Cornell, on the ways you've grown as a person, things you want to take with you, things you might like to leave behind.
Think about the sense of self you've developed here, how you might use your gifts, as we heard, to do your part in the growth and the healing of this world that needs it. Because every single one of you, led by the light in your hearts, the power in your intellect, and the spark in your spirits, has the potential to do extraordinary things defined in ways that go beyond this, beyond our usual limited version of achievement.
And I have no doubt that your generation will continue to redefine the boundaries of exactly everything but certainly unidimensional and tired notions of success. Anyway, here's the blessing. Here's the blessing that I offered to my seniors then and I'm offering to you as well. What an extraordinary honor and privilege to walk next to you at this moment in your education and in your life's path.
We will not, all of us, come together in community again. But we will always share a very strong bond for having gone through this time together, and I will treasure that and all of you. May every single one of you enjoy tremendous health and safety and connection in your lives. May you find meaningful work that brings more goodness into this world.
May you always be an instrument of love and kindness, and may you receive it back in abundance. May you know the power of your own truth. May joy and fulfillment follow you as you follow wherever the path takes you. And may you continue to cultivate joyful, grateful, loving hearts to guide your way. Congratulations, class of 2023. We are so proud of you.
[APPLAUSE]
All right. Thank you. Last thing. As we conclude our program, we are going to sing. Graduates Jane Lim and Andy Yang lead us in the singing of the Cornell "Alma Mater." You have the words on the back of your program. Jane and Andy, welcome up to the stage.
[APPLAUSE]
Oh, yes, I think we stand to sing this.
SPEAKER: 1, 2, 3, 4.
ALL: (SINGING) Far above Cayuga's waters, with its waves of blue, stands our noble alma mater, glorious to view. Lift the chorus, speed it onward, loud her praises tell. Hail to thee, our alma mater. Hail, all hail, Cornell.
Far above the busy humming of the bustling town, reared against the arch of heaven, looks she proudly down. Lift the chorus, speed it onward, loud her praises tell. Hail to thee, our alma mater. Hail, all hail, Cornell.
[APPLAUSE, CHEERING]
LAREN KORFINE: Thank you, everyone. This concludes our program. Please join us for reception. And safe travels home.
[APPLAUSE, CHEERING]
