Fresh from the Hill: Inside Stories of Noteworthy Cornellians

In celebration of Groundhog's Day, we thought we'd revisit our VERY FIRST full-length episode of Fresh from the Hill. First aired October 31, 2018. Enjoy! _________________________________________________________________ At age 24 Svante Myrick won a mayoral race to become the youngest mayor in Ithaca's history and the first mayor of African American heritage. In this exclusive interview, host Ale...

Law & Society Talk is a bi-weekly podcast series hosted by Co-Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Harris. This conversational component of the Review will feature discussions pertaining to recent case law, happenings from the steps of the Supreme Court and federal courts, and projects and articles underway by our current writers and contributors. Learn more on their website . In this episode of Law &...

We've got a fun series in store for you over the next few months! Tune in to learn what's coming down the pike. Read the episode transcript. Hosted, created and produced by Amanda Massa. Music by Kia Albertson-Rogers '13, koa3@cornell.edu. Artwork by Chris Kelly. *The views expressed by Fresh from the Hill hosts and guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Cornell University.

UPDATE: Since this episode aired, Enongo earned her PhD from Cornell in 2019 making her a triple red! And because we've been on a music theme lately, we thought it was a good time to rebroadcast this episode from the very early days of the podcast. Hope you enjoy! ________________________________________________________________________ Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo '08, MA '15 aka Sammus is an Ithaca-rai...

Jazz musician and historian Colin Hancock ’19 is an old soul. As a young kid, he was drawn to the sound of early jazz, gravitating towards the likes of Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet and other others of the pre-bop era. Since then, he’s built his musical career around playing and recording in that style of music. In fact, he owns and operates the only acoustic studio that cuts 78...

From a young age, Kobina Ansah '08 was a budding entrepreneur, even before he knew what entrepreneurship really was. As a teenager he mowed neighbors lawns to earn extra spending cash. In college, he and his friends started a full service B&B for busy Cornell weekends (Air BnB eat your heart out!); "I remember feeling this great sense of satisfaction by identifying a client, identifying their...

Alex Kresovich '08 is a Billboard #1 and RIAA-Platinum certified music producer, songwriter, and composer from Ithaca, New York who's best known for his work with Panic! at the Disco, Cee Lo Green, Niykee Heaton, MAX, Hoodie Allen, Snow Tha Product, Chris Webby, and Jocelyn Alice. But when the music business took a toll on his own well being, he took take a break from the producing world to explor...

From Halloween pranks to campus hauntings - tune in for tales of murder, mayhem, creepy classes and unsolved mysteries of Cornell’s spookier past from unofficial university historian Corey Ryan Earle ’07. This podcast was repurposed from a live online event that took place on 10/26/21. If you’re near a computer and would like to see the whole program with visuals, you can watch the recording here...

You briefly met Armon Sadler and Nic Earley on the previous episode of Fresh from the Hill through their own podcast, Stay Busy with Armon Sadler . Now it's time to REALLY get to know them.  Hear their Cornell origin stories and how they met each other, along with some nuggets of advice for Cornellians pursuing creative fields. Do you remember a little fraternity called Alpha Phi Alpha that w...

Meet our new hosts of Fresh from the Hill through this promo of their OWN podcast - Stay Busy with Armon Sadler .  Stay Busy with Armon Sadler features responsible discussions about music culture and business. Hosted by Armon Sadler, executive produced by Nic Earley. Get a taste of Armon and Nic's podcasting style and be sure to check out their upcoming episodes of Fresh from the Hill to kick...

Since last episode was all about the criminal justice system, we thought it appropriate to follow it up with this episode from season 1. Featuring Darnell Epps, a recent grad who, after spending almost two decades in prison turned his life around and earned his degree from Cornell. Originally aired June 26, 2019. Enjoy! ___________________________________________________________________________ Fr...

Maurice Chammah ’10, author of Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty and journalist at the Marshall Project , has dedicated his life’s work to illuminating the injustices in the American prison system through writing about individual stories while also shedding light on the larger issues at hand.  Tune in today and hear how his love of writing and a class at Cornell h...

Check your privilege. It’s a phrase that you’ve likely heard, but what does it really mean? Prior to her involvement in Cornell’s Intergroup Dialogue Project (IDP), Sydney Mann ’18 didn’t like the term. Who’s to judge what privilege one may have based on the color of their skin? But through having tough conversations and listening instead of taking up space in those talks, Sydney started to unders...

The journey post-film school is not an easy one. And that’s why Dawn Kamoche ’07 recommends you think long and hard before deciding it’s the route for you. Her experience was not smooth sailing, as is the plight of many aspiring filmmakers. After graduating in 2007, it was HARD for anyone to find a job, let alone someone going into the ever-competitive film industry; “Go to an Ivy League they said...

In 2017, with limited knowledge about cryptocurrency and bitcoin but a dream of founding her own startup, Flori Marquez ’13 co-founded BlockFi . The financial services company for cryptocurrency now has over 800 employees and 500,000 clients worldwide. So what is cryptocurrency? And how is BlockFi revolutionizing it to make it more accessible to the average consumer? You’re going to find out. Thin...

“Every time a movie gets made in Hollywood, ten million miracles have to happen.” Will Gluck '93 is certainly no stranger to some miracles (and apparently luck as well -- his advice to aspiring filmmakers is to “get very lucky”), but don't let him fool you, all of his success didn't simply fall in his lap. Known for box office hits like Easy A, Friends with Benefits, Annie, and Peter Rabbit, Gluck...

Through working for companies like NPR, Buzzfeed, Vox, and Stitcher, Camila Salazar ’16 knows podcasting. And she’s also our next host for Fresh from the Hill! Learn how she first got into podcasts (anyone heard of the show Serial?) and how she was able to make a career for herself in the podcasting world; “I saw the potential of the industry.” *If you're sensitive to strong language, please note...

In this Cornell Black Alumni Association (CBAA) series, you’ve heard from the organization’s founders and its past presidents. You’ve heard how CBAA has evolved since 1976, both in the great progress made and the unfortunate obstacles we still endure. In this last episode of the series, we chat with CBAA’s current executive board highlighting their pivot to virtual programming in the pandemic and...

This week, we take just a bit of a departure from our normal format. Listen in to this reflective episode as John talks about allyship and the importance of amplifying Black and minoritized voices in everyday life. We invite you to listen, learn, and reflect as we begin to wrap up this incredible series partnership with CBAA. “As we think about underrepresented groups, marginalized groups, minorit...

In part two of our CBAA (Cornell Black Alumni Association) roundtable, we hear from six more former presidents. Learn about their individual contributions and their shared goals for the next 45 years of this historic association. Featuring: Michael Littlejohn ’79 Lisa Jones ’84 Linda Gadsby ’88 Jonelle Bradshaw de Hernandez ’96 Anika Daniels-Osaze ’96 Ruby Saake ’84 “It was important for me to see...

In its 45 years of existence, CBAA (Cornell Black Alumni Association) has had 16 presidents. We’ve gathered them together for a couple of lively roundtable discussions. Hear about their experiences at Cornell as students, as alumni, and as trailblazers for the Black community. These conversations were so incredible, we’ve split them into two episodes. "It's about connection and care. We care about...

In 1969, every Black student at Cornell knew all of the other Black students on campus. They were a small, but powerful community and Irene Smalls '71 advocated for the group to create a legacy beyond graduation. She and four other founding members created CBAA: the Cornell Black Alumni Association . Forty five years later, the CBAA legacy is stronger than ever and we’re so fortunate to chat with...

How am I supposed to Adult? We all attended Cornell as a result of our hard work and dedication, but once that diploma is in hand… what’s next? Tiffany Southerland ’06 looked for a syllabus on All The Things: career, relationships, mental health, etc. Now a coach and motivational speaker, she has practical insight and positive perspective to share in the fourth episode of our CBAA series.  Ch...

Did you know the first intercollegiate historically African American Greek-lettered fraternity was founded here at Cornell? Now 114 years old, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc . has grown to 706 chapters across the country. Hear from Alpha Brothers Eric Elmore '86, JD '89 and Ernie Jolly '09 about the impact this organization had on their Cornell experience and how they view and serve in the world...

“Am I the one who doesn’t belong here? Did they make a mistake?,” Ahmed Ahmed ’17 wondered after his first semester at Cornell. We’ve all been there, right? But Ahmed’s tenacity and grit led him to greatness as a Cornell undergrad, as a Rhodes Scholar, and now as a medical student at Harvard. Tune in to hear his fascinating story! Read the episode transcript . Hosted by John Rawlins III '06. Creat...