Cornell (thank) U

Caroline Coors has lived in more places than most people twice her age, so she knows a thing or two about being the new girl! After transferring from Cal Poly to Cornell, she learned that finding your people doesn't always happen overnight. She also discovered that Cornell is, as she puts it, "sneaky fun," and that there are endless opportunities to be engaged in and out of the clas...

It's been a difficult and heartbreaking time for the Cornell community. Recent events have left many feeling angry, saddened, disappointed, and concerned. We share those feelings, recognize the pain of those directly affected, and appreciate the voices speaking up, asking hard questions, and demanding accountability and meaningful change.  This week, it's just the two of us. We wanted to...

AI can give us answers faster than ever—but getting the answer is only part of making a good decision. Cheryl Strauss Einhorn '91 returns to talk about her new book, The Human Edge , how to work with AI to make better decisions, and why judgment, self-awareness, and critical thinking are becoming more valuable than ever in the age of AI. We've made the decision that she can come back whe...

Rachel Doyle ’05 was just 17 when she turned a brilliant idea into GlamourGals. More than 25 years later, that idea is still bringing teenagers and older adults together. We talked with Rachel about starting young, building something that lasts, and the Cornell experiences and relationships that helped shape the journey. We also talk about ambition, connection, some advice that changed the way she...

Max Hartley ’29 has been at Cornell for one month—and somehow he’s already everywhere. The 20-year-old sophomore transfer is studying in ILR, singing with Last Call A Cappella, running, building businesses and creating Sillage—what he calls “Letterboxd for fragrance fans.” We talk about leaving a college he loved for Cornell, finding his people as a transfer, getting the knock on his dorm-room doo...

Gary Yarnell knew he wanted to be a veterinarian at two years old. He never changed his mind. At Cornell, he raced through undergrad, met his future wife Laurie—and once rescued a parakeet from anatomy lab by putting it in his pocket and sneaking it out. Then came vet school, 45 years of caring for animals, and a Rye practice he built by being there for his patients around the clock. Literally. Ga...

What happens when two Cornell track athletes start commiserating about watered-down iced coffee on a 14-mile run? For Ben Gibson and Mikey Dizon-Bumann, it turned into Kube & Co. They tell us how they took a problem iced coffee drinkers have dealt with forever and figured out a way to actually solve it—through countless experiments, incredible creativity, unexpected setbacks, and a lot of pers...

If you’ve been on Cornell’s campus lately, chances are you’ve seen—or heard about—Anmo Li ’28, aka the pogo stick guy. Anmo is a world-ranked extreme pogo stick athlete and founder of the Cornell Pogo Club. He joins us to talk about Pogopalooza, going viral on campus, why getting good at pogo sticking means getting comfortable with failure, and his plans to help reinvent the modern pogo stick. We...

Since being introduced to Jon Gordon ’93 just a few weeks ago, Michelle has read seven of his books—and genuinely feels changed by them. Then we talked with Jon, and Steph felt it too. There is something about the way Jon thinks, teaches and tells a story that stays with you. Jon is the bestselling author of more than 30 books, including The Energy Bus, The Carpenter, The Hard Hat and The Power of...

If you’re a college student getting ready for recruiting season—or the parent of one—this episode could not come at a better time. Deborah Klein Glasser knows the job search from both sides. After Cornell, she built a career in marketing and consulting at companies including Pepsi, Colgate, PwC and Starwood Hotels, earned her MBA from Wharton, and today, as the founder of Pathfinder Consulting, he...

Ayotunde Ejiko is only 20 years old, but somehow he has already fit an extraordinary amount into those 20 years. He grew up in Nigeria, moved to the United States at 11, became one of the top high school sprinters in Washington, D.C., and learned early that when something isn’t working, you don’t just complain about it—you figure out how to make it better. Today, Ayotunde is a Division I sprinter...

When we first met Ruthie Jones, we knew she had an incredible story. A Division I soccer goalie at Duke. A first-year student at Weill Cornell Medicine. But what surprised us most wasn't her resume—it was the way she thinks. Ruthie shares how growing up in a family of athletes taught her confidence, resilience, and teamwork, why one decision at age 11 changed the course of her life, and how t...

She's here!! This interview has been at the top of our wish list for a long time. Most people know Kate Snow as the journalist they've welcomed into their homes for decades. We walked away appreciating her even more—not just for the stories she's covered, but for the humanity she brings to every one of them. In this episode, Kate takes us from Cornell to local news, CNN, ABC, and NB...

What if one of the best beauty products has been sitting in your medicine cabinet all along? Three years after her first visit to Cornell (Thank) U, GlossLab founder Rachel Glass is back with her newest venture, le-balme—and the story behind it is fascinating. Rachel shares why she believes petroleum jelly has been one of skincare's best-kept secrets, how she partnered with a New York dermato...

She never planned to become Justine Snacks. Today, Justine Doiron ('16) has built a community of more than 4 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, along with a New York Times bestselling cookbook. But behind the viral recipes is a story that's thoughtful, surprising, and deeply personal. In this episode, Justine shares how a Cornell Hotelie became one of the internet&a...

What does the perfect day at Cornell look like? After interviewing 250 incredible guests on the Cornell (Thank) U Podcast, we noticed something. No matter when they were at Cornell—or what they studied—they kept coming back to many of the same memories: • The same dorms  • The same classes  • The same professors  • The same study spots  • The same bars  • The same late-night food So, to celebrate...

How does a first-generation kid from Brooklyn end up becoming the Acting Mayor of Ithaca? For Eric Rosario '91, it all started with one history professor whose book inspired him to apply to Cornell. That one decision changed the course of his life in ways he never could have imagined. Eric is one of those people who instantly makes you feel like you've known him forever. He's though...

We had the honor and fun of talking with Alexis Gabler '24, whose connection to Cornell began long before she ever arrived in Ithaca. After her father, Cornell alumnus Fred Gabler, was killed on September 11th, his closest friends—including our Vino—made an extraordinary commitment to be a loving part of her life and to help secure her future. Years later, Alexis graduated from Cornell Human...

Lisa Levy Shaub ’91 joins us for a conversation about reinvention, resilience, and finding your true calling. She shares behind-the-scenes stories about working with Oprah, the lessons she learned about behavior change, confidence, and wellness, and why she believes some of life’s biggest pivots can become our greatest opportunities. We also discuss midlife health, longevity, GLP-1 medications, co...

Mike "Vino" Levine has one of the most powerful jobs in sports as Co-Head of CAA Sports, representing some of the biggest athletes, coaches, and personalities in the world. But that's not why we loved this conversation. Vino takes us from Chappaqua and Cornell lacrosse to the top of the sports industry, sharing stories about friendship, teamwork, mentorship, family, and the relation...

Adam Rosenberg '92 thought he might become a lawyer or work in politics. Instead, he built one of the most impactful careers we've ever featured on the podcast. Today, Adam leads programs that support more than 10,000 survivors of violence each year, working with children, families, and communities during some of the hardest moments imaginable. But before all of that, he was living the f...

Cornell rising junior Noah Farb joins us after a viral video and widely shared Free Press article suddenly put him at the center of a national conversation about Cornell and President Kotlikoff. Noah talks about why he decided to speak out, how students reacted, and what it feels like to suddenly become one of the most talked-about student voices on campus. Beyond the politics, this episode is als...

Rob Gregor is back — and since we last spoke, he’s entered an entirely new world: finance YouTube. The Cornell alum, lawyer, hotelier, investor, and Hotel School guest lecturer has launched The Hostile Takeover TV with his 15-year-old son Joseph, a channel designed to teach Gen Z about money, investing, AI, and financial survival in an increasingly uncertain economy. You simply have to check it ou...

Why do students describe Dr. Lauren Korfine as “life-changing”? In this episode, the beloved Human Ecology professor opens up about mental health, imposter syndrome, anxiety, heartbreak, gender, campus culture, and what students today are really struggling with.  We also talk about her unexpected path from Cornell student… to Harvard… to working as a doula for 17 years before returning to the clas...

She didn’t pick one path—she picked all of them. From Cornell to Procter & Gamble, to entrepreneurship, to raising a family, to running a tennis program for 500 kids a year—Lisa Ullmann is the definition of a doer. In this episode, we talk about: Springsteen, Slope Day, how she built a career and still stayed deeply involved in her community, why she’s never been afraid to ask for money, and t...