Meet Michaela
Michaela, a Massachusetts native graduating in 2025, is studying Information Science in the College of Arts & Sciences with a minor in Business. When she isn’t traveling with the ski team or exploring Ithaca with the Cornell Running Club, Michaela enjoys how interdisciplinary her Cornell education is.
What clubs/activities are you involved with on campus?
I am part of the Big Red Ambassadors, the Alpine Ski Team, and the Cornell Running Club.
Why is the College of Arts & Sciences a great fit for you?
The College of Arts & Sciences is an excellent fit because it pushes me to take classes outside my comfort zone. One of my favorite things about Cornell is how many unique academic departments there are, and I want to take advantage of this while I am here. The Arts & Sciences curriculum pushes me to take classes outside my major, such as acting and oceanography. These classes are a nice break from my information science classes, and I like connecting with my friends in different majors.
What are your go-to campus resources?
I am a big fan of going to office hours. Most of my classes hold office hours nearly daily with professors or TAs. I started attending office hours for my Networks class in the first semester of my first year. Since then, I have regularly attended office hours for my more problem-set-heavy classes. Working through the homework problems with my peers during office hours and getting extra help from the TAs is really helpful. I have also made many lasting friends and study partners from going to office hours. Everyone is always supportive and non-judgmental, and we want to help each other understand the material.
What is one piece of advice or something you wish you knew when applying?
Pick a school where the overall culture and community feel the best for you. Four years of college is a long time, and many people change their majors and plans during their academic journey. I am completely different from when I applied to college in high school. However, I still love Cornell for the stunning campus, ambitious people, and variety of opportunities I loved when I applied. Pick the place where you know you won’t be bored!
Tell us about your favorite Cornell memory.
My favorite Cornell memory so far has been spending a week in Lake Placid for Nationals with the Alpine Ski Team. We all stayed in a house together, ski raced, cooked, bonded, and kept up with our schoolwork! Connecting as a team and meeting people from other club ski teams nationwide was great.
Hometown
Winchester, MassachusettsGraduation Year
2025College/School
- College of Arts & Sciences
Majors
- Information Science
Minors
- Business
Where is your go-to place to eat on campus?
My favorite place to eat on campus is Mac’s Cafe in Statler Hall. This cafe is conveniently located near Central Campus and Rhodes Hall, where I often go to office hours and work on my assignments. My favorite meal to get there is a chopped salad. You get to pick all of your ingredients, and they make the salad to order. My usual picks are a kale salad with apples, squash, beets, cucumbers, green beans, salmon, and feta!
Tell us about your favorite thing to do in Ithaca.
My favorite thing to do in Ithaca is to go out to eat with my friends. Collegetown and the Ithaca Commons are within walking distance or a bus ride from campus and have many great restaurants. I love heading out for a special Friday night dinner to recap and unwind from my week. My favorite Ithaca restaurants are Thompson and Bleeker, Souvlaki House, and Fusia.
What is your favorite class so far, and why?
I liked Networks (INFO 2040) my first semester. This class is cross-listed as Information Science, Computer Science, Economics, and Sociology, so it’s interdisciplinary. It was my first Information Science class, which differed from the courses I had taken in high school, so I had to learn to solve problems and study in new ways. The professors wrote the book for this class, so it was super well taught, and I think this class is relatively unique to Cornell.
What makes the Cornell experience unique?
The Cornell experience is unique because of the vast diversity of interests in one community. I love having friends and neighbors who are engineers, Hotelies, pre-meds, fashion designers, architects, and all kinds of other unique majors in one place. Both inside and outside of the classroom, everyone is super passionate about their unique interests. It’s so fun to support my friends and see all the cool things they are doing.
Tell us about your favorite place to study.
I don’t think I have one favorite place to study because I like mixing things up and changing scenery throughout the day. One of my favorite things about Cornell’s big campus is the many unique libraries and study spots. A few of my favorites across campus are Olin Library (Central Campus), Temple of Zeus (Arts Quad), Rhodes Hall (Engineering), and the Africana Library (North Campus).