Hi! My name is Willow and I'm 24. I love learning, especially about ecology, biology, history, philosophy, and more recently about environmental governance and law. I enjoy making art, spending time in nature, reading and writing, learning French, going down Wikipedia rabbitholes, attending local community events and meeting new people, and hanging out with cats. I grew up in central Pennsylvania (right by Penn State), but now live in Ithaca. I am pescatarian, but have also been vegan and vegetarian. I have Celiac disease (can't eat gluten), chronic pain, ADHD, and some other health issues I'm happy to talk about if it's of interest! While a lot of obstacles have changed how I imagined my future when I was still in high school, I am honestly grateful for where it has meant I am today.

Hometown

State College, Pennsylvania

Major(s)

Environment and Sustainability with a concentration in Environmental Biology and Applied Ecology

Clubs, organizations & involvement

- Active member of the themed dormitory, Risley Residential College for the Fine and Performing Arts: Risley Committee Parliamentarian, planning and running major programs events, shadow cast member in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Risley Revue arts and literature magazine co-editor, Risley Orientation Committee member, jewelry studio head manager - Big Red Marching Band: trombone player - The Cornell Lunatic, a satire​/​comedy magazine: writer​/​illustrator - Jazz Band - Work at a campus Student Service Center: team member, student supervisor, student manager

Describe your college experience

I am an undergraduate senior at Cornell studying Environment and Sustainability with a concentration in Environmental Biology and Applied Ecology. I was admitted Early Decision and started as a Biology major in fall 2020 -- during the pandemic! It has been a journey, and not an easy one. My freshman year started with quarantine, not orientation week. I lived in a program house -- a themed dorm -- and living in Risley was an incredibly important part of my experience where I made strong connections with people and felt like I was a real part of a community I loved. I no longer live in Risley, but I'm still involved in its governance and events. I changed my major at the beginning of my sophomore year from Biology to Environment and Sustainability and it made my academic experience so much better. I had more freedom in my coursework and in the timeline of which classes I would take when, and in exactly what classes I could take to fill my major requirements. I have really loved this major and its flexibility. I have spent a couple summers taking classes at Shoals Marine Lab on Appledore Island, which allowed me to take classes that fulfilled some of my major requirements, in a much more hands-on way. Each class was all day, one at a time, for about two weeks. I loved this format and the island, and found it accessible with financial aid and the ability to take a student staff position there. I made some fantastic close friends through the marching band, which at Cornell is student-run and has both social and music​/​marching aspects -- and while of course it's preferable to be at as many practices as possible, I loved that it was possible to participate in one or the other, or both, to whatever extent worked for me. And a number of people were learning an instrument for the first time, too! It was a low-pressure group with a lot of members and I found a lot of opportunities and social relationships there. Although I had great grades in grade school (as most Cornell students did), my grades at Cornell have been a very different story. Eventually, I took two years away from school to figure out my mental and physical health. I came back in fall 2025 and have been so grateful for what I've learned in my time away, and I'm happy to be back and doing much better in many ways! I am able to work, pay rent, take better care of my health, and pass my classes while navigating autoimmune disease, chronic pain, and major financial setbacks.

Tip for future students

Talk to people. Meet with your academic advisor, professors, and TAs before you have any issues -- it will make it so much easier to communicate when you do struggle or have questions, and these people may provide you with resources and pathways that you didn't know existed. It's okay to change your major. It's okay to be on a track that's not straightforward. Seek and say yes to new opportunities. Prioritize your health -- it is more important to be well than to have a perfect GPA. Try new things! Meet new people! And don't overload yourself academically. Burnout is real, and easier to prevent than to deal with after the fact.

Favorite class

HIST 1230, my Freshman Writing Seminar: Monstrous Births, Scheming Midwives: Childbirth in Europe 1500-1800 was one of my favorite classes. It's outside of my major, but was such an interesting slice of history and I learned a lot and felt passionate about the topic -- enough to take two more history courses with the same professor.

Career goals

I have a lot of ideas! I would like to use ecology to inform work to improve agricultural systems, to keep the environment safe and healthy as a system and for the people living in it. I love working with people, and have recently developed some interest in environmental law, which is something I might end up pursuing eventually in the future, though I don't have plans to go into grad school right after undergrad.

Ideal way to spend a free night

Hanging out with a group of good friends playing board games, watching jeopardy or a bad TV drama, and then stargazing on a balcony just talking and enjoying the company.

High school or secondary school

State College Area High School in State College, Pennsylvania