Cornell Personal Statement

There were many events that happened in 2017 that made me reconsider aspects of my career, education and society as a whole, but by far the biggest event was the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency. This was an event that managed to shake up my life, both at Cornell and in Painesville. It was devastating to know that the person in office earned that position through a rhetoric of hatred and discrimination. At Cornell, it was a smack in the face to realize that some of my closest friends and colleagues, whether Dreamers or international students, were living in fear of losing their opportunity of an education at an elite university such as our own. The workload at Cornell is tough enough on its own, and an extra burden of uncertainty for

Although I have yet to leave for my program, the opportunity itself has cause me to reflect on what I wish to earn from my Cornell experience. First, it provides me with an opportunity to continue improving on my Spanish speaking capabilities. Having grown up in a Mexican-American household, Spanish was my first language and I feel comfortable with my Spanish speaking abilities. Yet, as I have grown up that Spanish has slowly evolved into more of what I would call “Spanglish”, a hybrid of the two languages I use in my daily life. Thus, pitting myself to strictly speak Spanish for an entire semester will help in getting me towards a higher level of Spanish and improving my confidence in the language. This is super important to me, as one day I hope to pass that Spanish speaking ability to my children by raising them in a bilingual household. That multicultural identity is something I am very proud of, and it is something that I hope my future children will learn to value as well. Second, this program will connect me with many other people, both within the Cornell community and abroad. As a person who is very relationship oriented, I see this as an opportunity for me to make connections on a global scale. The

I believe that the ILR curriculum prepares me well for this field, as the various courses I have taken have analyzed great, and not so great, leaders which has allowed me to see what works and what does not. This examination of great leaders is further developed in the various lecture series held within the Cornell community, where I have witnessed talks from student leaders within the various Cornell subcultures, to our very own VP of Student and Campus Life, Ryan Lombardi. And although the organized lectures and courses do teach me a lot, I also learn the value of great leadership from my experiences outside of the classroom. Whether that’s within my own student groups or through casual conversation with friends, I have come to learn what it is people enjoy in a leader, and what they believe could be improved upon. I think my experience at Cornell has helped shape me into a better leader and I think that I have the potential to transfer some of that leadership knowledge onto others, whether that be students within impoverished school systems or to the highest positions in global businesses. That is where I believe Northeast Ohio comes into the equation, as it allows to help develop leadership in many different life situations. Cleveland is a city on the rise, and I think that I can come in as a leadership consultant to continue to improve the