MB Alumni Newsletter Fall 2016

Mortar Board / Der Hexenkreis Fall 2016 Newsletter Presented by the 125th Tapping Class

Dear Mortar Board Alumni, I’m proud to report that Mortar Board/Der Hexenkreis has been very active this past semester. It has been an honor working with each member of the 125th Tapping Class to uphold Mortar Board’s longstanding traditions while pursuing new initiatives that honor our commitment to scholarship, leadership and service.

This semester we welcomed a new advisor, Dr. Geoffrey B. Hill. While Dr. Hill is new to the Cornell community, he has had a decorated career in academia – coming to Ithaca after holding faculty and/or research positions at Harvard, the University of Cambridge and other like institutions. Dr. Hill completed his undergraduate studies at Tufts University, earning a B.A. in Comparative Religion and English before completing masters degrees at Yale and Dartmouth, as well as an M.Phil in Screen Media and Cultures and a Ph.D. in English at Trinity College, Cambridge.

We are very fortunate — Dr. Hill brings unparalleled passion and expertise to our organization. He has been an active advisor, attending our weekly meetings and pushing us to advance the organization while also helping us address any challenges that arise, demonstrating leadership techniques and relaying important fundraising strategies.

We have been able to accomplish numerous projects this semester, thanks to the dedication of executive board members and an enthusiastic general body. We hosted our annual Mortar Board Leadership Summit, spearheaded by Membership Chair Charlotte Levine. Charlotte planned an engaging evening that centered on dialogue, where we discussed the various challenges of leadership with exemplar members of the junior class.

Matthew “Chewy” Baumel has been instrumental in organizing both a Last Lecture Series installment and the Mortar Board Leadership Award. This year, Mortar Board invited Hotel Administration professor David Sherwyn to speak on his life’s research. Furthermore, we have selected two recipients for our Leadership Award, Stand in Solidarity and Cornell Make. Be sure to read Matthew’s letter for reports on these initiatives. Samari Gilbert has also been working hard on service initiatives, executing the Mortar Board Minute and other projects.

Looking to next semester, we have begun to prepare for the tapping process. Julia Montejo, Jonathan Goldstein and Colton Haney have been strategizing and producing marketing outreach campaigns to attract diverse applicants for the 126th Tapping Class. As we begin to refine our goals for next semester, now is an integral time to engage with you, our alumni. Any feedback and advice you may have is always invaluable. Please be sure to keep in touch and reach out whenever possible.

Ad Der Hexenkreis, Sloane Grinspoon President | 125th Tapping Class

Welcome Dr. Geoffrey B. Hill New MB Advisor | Assistant Dean of Flora Rose House Geoffrey Hill earned the B.A. in Comparative Religion and English from Tufts University, and an M.Phil. in Screen Media and Cultures and Ph.D. in English from Trinity College, Cambridge. He also earned MA's in Religion (Yale Divinity School), Liberal Studies/Cultural Studies (Dartmouth College), and English and American Literature (University of New Hampshire). Prior to arriving in Ithaca in July 2016, Geoffrey was [a] Visiting Fellow in English at Harvard University (2010-2013), Instructor in Extension at the Harvard Extension School (2012-2016) and a member of the Board of Freshman Advisors of Harvard College (2013-2016). He also served as the faculty fellow for the Harvard Women's Ice Hockey team and was a member of the Mather House Senior Common Room. Geoffrey has also taught at Boston University and Emerson College.

Most of Geoffrey's research circles around notions of individual and national identity - as they are presented in twentieth-century film and literature - and how these are inflected by race, ethnicity, religion, and architecture (among other things). This work has taken the United States, the United Kingdom, and Southeast Asia as its focus. Presently, Geoffrey is editing and introducing an edition of Anthony Burgess's novel Devil of a State for a new collected works of Burgess coming out of the Manchester University Press as well as working on two other long-term research projects.

In addition to his work as Assistant Dean of Flora Rose, Geoffrey is also a Visiting Fellow in the Southeast Asia Program at Cornell and is a faculty advisor to the Cornell University Men's and Women's Varsity Track and Field and Cross Country teams.

Photo & Bio Courtesy of florarosehouse.cornell.edu

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I was honored to be asked to become a Faculty Advisor for Mortar Board. I had been aware of the existence of the group for a number of years before arriving in Ithaca and [am] both attracted to its mission as well as impressed by its membership.

The thing I most look forward to on a weekly basis is interacting with the present cohort to try to find ways in which the group can make an immediate impact. I am hoping that my academic and professional life experience will prove useful in the process of moving from concept to reality with the works that MB envisions.

–Dr. Hill, Advisor

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Dr. Hill has quickly become an active advisor for Mortar Board/Der Hexenkreis and we are so fortunate to have his 100% commitment to our organization. As a group so deeply rooted in Cornell, Dr. Hill brings a unique perspective as he begins his Cornell journey, based on his experiences at a plurality of Cornell’s peer organizations, and we look forward to our first full semester with him.

–Ben Oster, Vice President

CornellMake & Stand in Solidarity

Leadership Award Update Written by Matthew “Chewy” Baumel, Last Lecture and Leadership Award Chair The Leadership Award this year proved to be a very competitive process with 6 applicants vying for a $1,000 award and the support of the Mortar Board network. The projects and applicants included: support for Cayuga’s Watchers, a proposal to launch a “Creative Sprint” 8-hour event lead by the Spark Product and Innovation Design Club, a proposal for a First-Year Student’s Leadership Conference, support for Stand in Solidarity’s goal to bring in more facilitators, a proposal for an American Enterprise Institute Leadership Dinner and Reception to foster greater policy discussion, and lastly, a proposal by CornellMake to collaborate on a Maker Faire event.

The 125s held a lengthy discussion and ultimately selected two recipients for this year’s award: CornellMake and Stand in Solidarity. We are beyond excited to work with CornellMake to turn a local Maker Faire into reality and to work with Stand in Solidarity to host additional facilitated workshops that challenge people to think critically about issues of diversity in an environment open to all perspectives.

Fall 2016 Leadership Reception Written by Charlotte Levine, Membership Chair Members of the 125th tapping class of Mortar Board/Der Hexenkreis hosted our annual Fall Leadership Reception in the beautiful A.D. White House on Friday November 4. The reception honored 65 members of the Class of 2018, who were nominated by 125s as a recognition of their outstanding campus leadership.

After an introductory reception with hors d’oeuvres, we split the juniors and rotated between three rooms in which 125s facilitated discussions based on four topics: Mortar Board/Der Hexenkreis’s three pillars of service, scholarship, and leadership, and diversity. We discussed the worst parts of leadership, how we can use our academic studies and campus extracurriculars to better the campus, and how we can stop tokenizing diversity and foster real change in our organizations. All in all, it was a successful evening. We met some truly impressive members of the junior class and hope to welcome some of them to the incoming class of 126s.

Planning for the 126th Tapping Class...

The application to join the 126th tapping class of Mortar Board/Der Hexenkreis will soon be open to the Cornell Class of 2018. Our executive board is currently finalizing the application requirements, essay questions and due date. After conducting an extensive application review and selection process, we are hoping to tap our new members at the end of February, initiate them in mid-March, and hold e-board elections in mid-April, after spring break. We look forward to sharing our 126th tapping class member list with you in our June newsletter!

A Hotelie’s Cornell Adventure Written by Matthew “Chewy” Baumel, Last Lecture and Leadership Award Chair The 125th tapping class was extremely excited to host David Sherwyn, the John and Melissa Ceriale Professor of Employment Relations, Human Resources & Law at the School of Hotel Administration, as our featured speaker in the fall Last Lecture series. Professor Sherwyn’s storytelling provided advice to the audience while moving all through tears and laughter.

Professor Sherwyn has been involved with the Cornell community for a long time having earned his B.S. from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations in 1986 and his J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1989.

Prior to joining the School of Hotel Administration as a professor, Sherwyn practiced management-side labor and employment law for six years. His impact on the students has been felt for years, as he’s received 17 teaching awards since joining in 1997. In addition, Professor Sherwyn conceived and organized the Center for Hospitality Research’s (CHR) first Hospitality Industry Roundtable, where he then served as director of the CHR from 2006-2009.

Professor Sherwyn’s lecture captivated the audience of current and former students, fellow professors and numerous other members of the Cornell community in Klarman Auditorium. In his typical, unconventional style, Professor Sherwyn opened his lecture by removing his jacket and rolling up his sleeves, and proceeded to sit in front of the lecture hall on a table with his legs dangling. The casual but extremely eloquent nature of the lecture was amazing as he presented from his legal pad numerous stories that always ended with a purpose.

Whether it was the teary-eyed tale of his former student Phil Cumming’s battle with cancer, or his winding path from lawyer at a firm to “one and out” professor at Cornell in the ILR school, Professor Sherwyn encouraged us to not take what we have for granted. He advised us to take advantage of the amazing opportunities that this university provides us, including everything from academics to the people around us.

In addition, he reminisced about his experience hearing the famous Jimmy Valvano ESPY speech in 1993 that spread the words, “Don’t give up…never give up.” This motto is one that Professor Sherwyn encouraged us to live by as we pursue things that make us passionate. He elaborated that we should continue exploring opportunities and surround ourselves with individuals that make us better. Professor Sherwyn was joined by members of his family, including his wife and two daughters that currently attend Cornell, and several other colleagues from the School of Hotel Administration that came to support.

Once again, Mortar Board is grateful for the incredible lecture that Professor Sherwyn delivered; we were all truly moved by the advice he provided. We look forward to continuing the tradition next semester!

Looking Ahead to Spring 2017: Service Update Written by Samari Gilbert, Co-Service Chair Hi Alumni, Mortar Board/Der Hexenkreis spent the fall semester laying the groundwork for a busy and productive spring semester. We rolled out our Mortar Board Minute, which will allow members of the Mortar Board/Der Hexenkreis family to share news that will assist us all in our pursuit of scholarship, leadership and service. We also began planning an event that will highlight some skills and tips (such as the use of proper gender pronouns in introductions and promoting accessibility when choosing event spaces) to new presidents across campus as they take office. We will we also be tabling across campus to make cards for Cornell Dining employees to thank them for all of the work that they do. Finally, we are drafting a letter to the administration in response to an uptick in bias reports. We hope that these events will make the Cornell community a little brighter as we prepare to leave the Hill.

Please email any service suggestions you may have! We are always looking for new ways to make an impact.

Samari Gilbert and Aastha Wadhwa Service Chairs

Alumni Relations Update Written by Tara Sarkar, Co-Alumni Relations Chair Dear Alumni, We are excited to share our news about a new initiative we have planned for the beginning of the spring semester. We want to connect you, our passionate and successful alumni, with our current MB seniors who are looking for jobs, applying to grad school, or just simply wanting to network. Our members are in the process of exploring a wide variety of opportunities for 2017 and are eager to speak with alumni who are involved in related fields and can offer advice, further contacts, or any other assistance. Keep an eye out for a list of our current members’ professional goals and post-grad interests, which will be posted on our Facebook page and LinkedIn group. Our hope is to initiate conversations and interactions between alumni and the seniors to not only provide professional help, but to also foster relationships among the current and graduated members of Mortar Board/Der Hexenkreis.

Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/3355842 Join us on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/385257701508772/ Tara Sarkar and Angelica Cullo Alumni Relations Chairs

Congratulations January 2017 Graduates!

Joon Lee Major, College: Communications, CALS Post Graduation Plans: Journalism Location after Graduation: Either New York or L.A. What did you get out of MortarBoard? A great place to feel inspired by a group of student leaders

Ethan Kramer Major, College: Mechanical Engineering, ENG Post Graduation Plans: Cornell Masters in Engineering Location after Graduation: Ithaca What did you get out of MortarBoard? Meeting some really cool, diverse, and interesting people on campus

Ana Yu Major, College: Policy Analysis and Management, HumEc Post Graduation Plans: Staying in Ithaca for the Spring semester and traveling!

Location after Graduation: Ithaca What did you get out of MortarBoard? Exposure to other communities on campus and the different (or similar) issues they face

Matthew “Chewy� Baumel Major, College: Applied Economics and Management, CALS Post Graduation Plans: Investment Banking Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the Real Estate, Gaming, and Lodging group Location after Graduation: New York City What did you get out of MortarBoard? I have made some great friends, learned about so many new things such as ROTC and debate, and had a great time hosting a Last Lecture event by David Sherwyn

Angelica Cullo Major, College: Biology & Society, CALS Post Graduation Plans: Masters in Social Work at Columbia Location after Graduation: New York City What did you get out of MortarBoard? Even a little bit of support and encouragement from fellow student leaders can be all it takes to make a project or event meaningful and successful

For more information and news on Mortar Board/Der Hexenkreis, visit our website: mbdh.org Edited by Tara Sarkar and Angelica Cullo Contact us at tds75@cornell.edu or afc46@cornell.edu