Mortar Board Newsletter Der Hexenkreis Chapter MAY 2016
Dear Mortar Board Alumni,
As the spring semester finally comes to a close, I am very excited to update you all on the events of the past few months. During winter break, our application for the 125th Tapping Class launched with continued advertisement until early February. This year we had over 200 applicants for our newest tapping class, and after a long and difficult weekend of selections, we welcomed 37 members to the 125th Tapping Class with enthusiasm. We were pleased to host Dr. Shawkat Toorawa as our Last Lecture speaker this semester. Most widely known as “Dr. T” on campus, Dr. Toowara is an Associate Professor of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies in the Department of Near Eastern Studies and widely known for hosting “The dr.T ProjecT: A Cornell HiTchhiker’s Guide to CulTure.” We also continued efforts to co-sponsor events and support fellow campus leaders by promoting their work. Most notably, Mortar Board co-sponsored Cornell’s 2nd Sexual Assault Awareness Week (SAAW). This week of events brings together a wide range of communities to foster dialogue about the issue of sexual assault on college campuses. Mortar Board members worked hard to promote the events and attend them throughout the week. Overall, the week was extremely successful. At the end of the semester, hosted a staff reception with keynote speaker Mary Opperman, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. The reception thanked staff members who may not necessarily receive the appreciation and recognition that they deserve for all the hard work they commit to this university and its students. We hope this event will become a larger, recurring event for our future tapping classes. I am very proud of the effort that the 124th Tapping Class has put into advancing our already remarkable chapter. Our main goals this past year were to increase our involvement in campus affairs and create a broader base for the service aspect of our chapter. I can confidently say that we have made great strides in both of these respects, and I have full confidence that the 125th Tapping Class will only continue these efforts with even greater success. I am very thankful to have been able to serve as the president of the 124th Tapping Class. As I told everyone at our final meeting of the year, Mortar Board’s mission statement includes “providing opportunities for continued leadership development” for its members. My fellow 124s gave me the greatest opportunity to fulfill this aspect of our organization when they elected me to serve as their president for this year, and for that I will be forever grateful. I wish our graduating seniors the best of luck in their future endeavors, and I wish the 125th Tapping Class continued success next year. Ad Der Hexenkreis, Rebecca Powers, President
NEW! Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/3355842 Join us on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/385257701508772/ Visit our website: mbdh.org
SERVICE UPDATE SPRING 2016 Written by Skyler Erickson, Service Chair Mortar Board had a great year upholding our third pillar of service! We came into the year looking for a project that could become a staple of our organization, like our Last Lecture and Leadership Award. We spent the first portion of the semester brainstorming and decided on a Mortar Board Staff Reception to honor those members of our community who work behind the scenes to make the efforts of our students, faculty, and administrators possible. Each Mortar Board member was given one invitation for an individual who made the biggest impact on their Cornell experience over four years. We were fortunate to receive funding from Vice President Ryan Lombardi for a catered meal and Vice President Mary Opperman tied the whole evening together as our keynote speaker. At the end of the evening, we were also able to create a raffle for gift cards that had been donated from restaurants in the area. I left the event feeling like Mortar Board had put together a truly special moment for some of our most loved and underappreciated staff members in the community. Mortar Board also put together a video campaign titled “When I Failed.” The purpose of the campaign was to highlight that even some of our best and brightest students, faculty, and alumni have failed somewhere along the way here at Cornell. The video received 7,500 views on Facebook and was posted to Cornell Cast, Slope Media, Orientation Steering Committee, and Gannett’s mental health page. Check out the video here! Throughout the year, Mortar Board worked to co-sponsor several events including the United Way Homecoming 5K, Relay for Life, and Sexual Assault Awareness week. We have elected two 125s for the service chair position next year, Aastha Wadhwa and Samari Gilbert. It has been a truly wonderful year for our group, and we look forward to seeing where the 125s take our service initiatives next.
ELECTRIC BUFFALO RECORDS
LEADERSHIP AWARD UPDATE Electric Buffalo Records, winner of our 2016 leadership award, put on a fantastic showcase at Watermargin this semester, featuring Paulitics, Pilgrims, and _____. We highly recommend previewing Paulitics first album on Spotify here. You can also listen to a few more of their artists by clicking the following: Inspiraling | _____ | Pilgrims Next year, EBR hopes to release a few more full length artist albums and continue its showcases. The label’s main project will be creating an in-house songwriting structure that would write songs for artists who aren't as experienced in writing, but still enjoy the energy and enthusiasm that comes with performing. Lastly, Electric Buffalo looks to organize a house band for the label, adding another great facet to their campus reach.
LESSONS FROM POETRY Written by Michael Charles, Last Lecture Chair The 124th and 125th tapping classes were proud to present Dr. Shawkat Toorawa to continue on the Last Lecture Series this spring. Dr. Toorawa, Cornell’s beloved dr. T from the dr. T ProjecT: A Cornell's HiTchhikers Guide to CulTure - 30 minuTes of Tea, shorTbread, and 3 Things worTh knowing, presented advice to students and faculty in the audience through his experience in poetry.
Dr. T used songs lyrics and poems from different centuries and cultures to discuss his thoughts on life, love and loss. His first word of advice was simple: read poetry. “Poetry is a form of expression that has the capacity to transport, to elevate, the power to move, the power to transform,” he stated. From a teacher at a young age, dr. T was taught compassion and authority can coexist. Through his experience as the only Muslim student attending his elementary school, he learned from an early age to not be judgmental of others and to respect differences in other cultures and shared his mother’s lesson, “We follow certain rules, others follow different rules. We aren’t better than your friends, they aren’t better than us.” As he continued, dr. T discussed his experience in handling religion, spirituality, and direction as a parent. He focused on how important it was for his own children and the students he worked with to think and make decisions for themselves. He challenged students to determine our path in life based on what we think is best, learning for ourselves along the way and to follow the guiding principle: “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” Dr. T has been a driving force on this campus to encourage mutual respect of cultural differences and teaching students important lessons outside of the classroom. We were incredibly lucky to host Dr. T’s real Last Lecture, as he will be leaving Cornell at the end of the year. As an organization, Mortar Board wishes the best to Dr. Shawkat Toorawa and are proud to work with him to deliver his advice and thoughts to the Cornell community. A full recording of his lecture can be found on our FB event page.
SPRING 2016 SNAPSHOT 124s and 125s gathered for our last meeting ever (together)! On behalf of 124s, we are ever grateful to Mortar Board for the opportunity to meet campus pioneers in such a wide range of subjects and to have worked together over the past year, creating lifetime friendships. To the 125s, we are so excited to see how you will carry this organization forward in the next year - we are cheering you on every step of the way.
THE 124th TAPPING CLASS
Mountain View, CA Kristi Krulcik | Google
Sacramento, CA Emma Johnston | SF Capital Fellows Los Angeles, CA Saif Azam | USC Medical - Keck
Beijing, China Juliana Batista, Schwarzman Scholar Tegucigalpa, Honduras Skyler Erickson | Fulbright Scholar
Toronto, Canada Yasmin Alameddine | IBM
Ithaca, NY Ryan Enderby | Masters in Info Sci Jacob Cohen Matt Harkins
Chicago, IL Ben Zehr | Novantas, Inc.
Philadelphia, PA Spencer Nord | UPenn Law
Columbus, OH Michael Charles | PhD Candidate
Boston, MA Maggie Davis | Tufts Medical Manny Fernandez | athenahealth Antoine St. Victor | athenahealth Maria Jiang | PowerAdvocate Zac Cesaro | Stroud International Rebecca Powers | Turner Construction New York, NY Carolyn Sussman | Accenture Bobby Dougherty | Goldman Matt Henderson | Deloitte Mark LaPointe | Bloomberg Connor Riser Kendall Grant | AB Bernstein
Washington D.C. Linda He | IBM Natalie Rosseau | Dept. Health and Human Services
Bentonville, AR Joe Spivak | S.C. Johnson
STARTED FROM ITHACA, NOW WE HERE.
125th EXECUTIVE BOARD Sloane Grinspoon, President Hometown: Weston, MA Campus Involvement: Cornell Daily Sun, Kappa Alpha Pi pre-professional fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Phi, Hotel School TA Charlotte Levine, Membership Chair Hometown: Newton, MA Campus Involvement: Army ROTC, Outdoor Odyssey, Cornell Outdoor Education, Von Cramm Co-op Jonathan Goldstein, Tapping Chair Hometown: New York, NY Campus Involvement: Cornell Union for Disability Awareness, Delta Alpha Pi International Disability Honor Society, Intergroup Dialogue, Student Assembly Diversity and Inclusion Committee Matthew Baumel, Last Lecture and Leadership Chair Hometown: North Caldwell, NJ Campus Involvement: Student Activities Funding Commission, Class of 2017 Convocation Chair, President of Cornell Strategic Consulting Colton Haney, Social Chair Hometown: Leesburg, VA Campus Involvement: A Cappella Advisory Council, Orientation Steering Committee, Last Call A Cappella, Glee Club
Benjamin Oster, Vice President Hometown: Massapequa, NY Campus Involvement: American Indian Science and Engineering Society, NASCAC, CUEMpower Julia Montejo, Internal Operations Chair Hometown: Jupiter, FL Campus Involvement: Cornell DREAM Team, SA City and Local Affairs Committee, Chess Club, Cornell Admissions Office Tara Sarkar, Alumni Relations Co-Chair Hometown: Stamford, CT Campus Involvement: Cornellian Yearbook, YOURS, SamahopeU
Aastha Wadhwa, Service Co-Chair Hometown: Dayton, NJ Campus Involvement: APO, Welcome Weekend, Office of the Assemblies Samari Gilbert, Service Co-Chair Hometown: Gurnee, IL Campus Involvement: Black Students United, CUTonight Funding Commission, Minority Business Students Association, NSBE Angelica Cullo, Alumni Relations Co-Chair Hometown: Kingston, NY Campus Involvement: Minds Matter, Healthy and Disordered Eating Series, Meds & Food for Kids, Learning Strategies Center
125th TAPPING CLASS John Pedro Hometown: Vestal, NY Campus Involvement: Air Force ROTC, Scabbard and Blade, The Cornell Review, Cornell Republicans, Orientation Leader
Margaret Northrup Hometown: Dulles, VA Campus Involvement: The F Word, Sexual Health Awareness Group, Air Force ROTC, Scabbard & Blade
Robert Pannullo Hometown: North Caldwell, NJ Campus Involvement: Varsity Sprint Football, Varsity Baseball, Phi Kappa Psi, ILR Peer Mentor, ILR TA
Blake Brown Hometown: Boston, MA Campus Involvement: IFC, Tour Guide
Alex Rucker Hometown: Warren, NJ Campus Involvement: Cornell EMS, ECE Cornell Cup, Delta Tau Delta, Engineering Peer Advisory Alyannah Kassam Hometown: Toronto, Canada Campus Involvement: Class Council, Canadians at Cornell, Dean’s Student Advisory Board for SHA Michael Luzmore Hometown: New York, NY Campus Involvement: Cornell University Program Board, CALS Ambassadors Sami Mesgun Hometown: Las Vegas, NV Campus Involvement: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc, Coalition of Pan-African Scholars, Scholars Working Ambitiously to Graduatem Association for Students of Color Krystin Chiellini Hometown: Riverview, FL Campus Involvement: Varsity Gymnastics Team, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Red Key Athlete Honor Society, Big Red Leadership Initiative, Athletic Pre-Health Society
Cole Norgaarden Hometown: Wayzata, MN Campus Involvement: KyotoNOW!, Cornell Prison Education Program, Prospect of Whitby Cooperative, Nilgiris Field Learning Center Rigoberto Perez Hometown: Watsonville, CA Campus Involvement: Science Organization of Latinos, La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity Inc, LLS Steering Committee, OADI Pre-Professional Programs, Prawallika Gangidi Hometown: Westwinds, NJ Campus Involvement: EMS, Residential Student Congress Adam Shelepak Hometown: Endwell, NY Campus Involvement: Anabel’s Grocery, Cornell United Way, IFC, Delta Sigma Pi, Cornell Political Review
Yamini Bhandari Hometown: West Windsor, NJ Campus Involvement: Undergraduate Student Trustee, Kappa Alpha Pi, Research Assistant, Delta Delta Delta
125th TAPPING CLASS Aaron Mallenbaum Hometown: North Caldwell, NJ Campus Involvement: Hillel, Mock Trial, Alpha Epsilon Pi
Natasha Wissmann Hometown: Mooresville, NC Campus Involvement: Panhellenic Council, Engineering Ambassadors
Joon Lee Hometown: Brookline, MA Campus Involvement: Cornell Daily Sun, Communication Social Media Lab
Treijon Johnson Hometown: Fayetteville, GA Campus Involvement: LINK Men’s Alliance, Minority Business Students’ Association
Saim Chaudhary Hometown: Lahore, Pakistan Campus Involvement: Islamic Alliance for Justice, Student Assembly Anran Yu Hometown: Buffalo, NY Campus Involvement: Cornall Asian Pacific Islander Student Union, Human Ecology Dean’s Council, Kappa Phi Lamda Thaya Psyhojos Hometown: Lexington, MA Campus Involvement: Cornell Concert Commission, Alpha Chi Omega Enting Lee Hometown: Singapore Campus Involvement: Cornell Speech and Debate, Telluride House, ILR Communications
Lucy Stockton Hometown: Watermargin, NY Campus Involvement: Watermargin Cooperative, Public Service Scholar, Outdoor Odyssey, Cornell Outdoor Education, Cornell Prison Education Program, Writers Bloc Literary Magazine Jordan Berger Hometown: Fort Wayne, IN Campus Involvement: Cornell Student Assembly, Student Disability Services, Cornell Hillel
Ethan Kramer Hometown: Short Hills, NJ Campus Involvement: Orientation Steering Committee co-chair, Baja Racing Project Team s, Tau Beta Pi, Running Club, Class of 2017 Award
Allison Considine Hometown: Rochester, New York Campus Involvement: Cornell Outdoor Education, Cornell Organization for Labor Action, ILR Roundtable, ILR Research Assistant
Edited by Yasmin Alameddine and Maria Jiang Contact us at yaa6@cornell.edu or mwj38@cornell.edu