Fresh from the Hill: Inside Stories of Noteworthy Cornellians

Hockey is Topher Scott’s life. When an injury in high school forced him to look outside the Big 10, he found himself at Cornell, a serendipitous twist of fate. Topher's Cornell experience has since shaped his life in almost every facet, from meeting his wife on campus, to assistant coaching the Cornell men's hockey team for five years, to remaining in upstate NY to raise his young family and pursu...

After completing a landscape architecture degree at Cornell in 2001, Chris Merkley quickly discovered he actually wanted to pursue a career in music. Chris has performed over a thousand shows from the streets of Paris to venues through out Europe and across the United States. He has released nine albums with a variety of groups which include the song writing duo Merkley & Morgan, his high octa...

Andrea Savage '94 is a comedic actress, writer, director and producer. Andrea created the hit television show, I'm Sorry , which is currently in production on season 3.  As an actress on television, Andrea has starred as President Laura Montez on HBO’s Veep , Helen Basch on Showtime’s Episodes , Vivian Stoll on CW’s iZombie , and as Rhonda on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm . Andrea has also been...

Meet our next host of Fresh from the Hill ! Juliana Garcia is a 2014 graduate of the Industrial and Labor Relations. It's time to get acquainted as she'll be hosting the next five episodes of Fresh from the Hill ! Hear about why she picked Cornell and how the transition to upstate NY from Dallas, TX was, what made her decide to remain in the area after graduation, and who you'll be hearing her int...

Check out this very special cross-over episode of Fresh from the Hill , originally featured on Lou Diamond's podcast Thrive LOUD ! Kathryn Boor is the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) . Since 2010 She has been responsible for developing and implementing the strategic direction of the college, with over 360 faculty, 3,700 undergraduate students and 10...

Psst! We have a holiday treat for you! In this short bonus episode, we’ve got a great story and some sound advice for the new year. Thanks for listening and we’ll see you in 2020! Featuring: Lou Diamond '92 Aaron Kominos-Smith '04 Alex Zalben '99 Read the episode transcript. Created and produced by Amanda Massa. Music by Kia Albertson-Rogers '13, koa3@cornell.edu . Artwork by Chris Kelly. *The vie...

How does your space feel? How could it work better for you? On this episode of Fresh from the Hill , hear how Eden Brachot ’15 used her Cornell degree to become a Design Strategist at HLW, an international design and architecture firm. Brachot helps companies create workspaces that evoke both feeling and functionality. Tune in for this lively discussion with host Lou Diamond ’92 and start looking...

Kyle Scott ’11 is currently Head of Product & Production at Serhant Media Group, Ryan Serhant's media company. At the time of this interview Kyle was a producer/editor and content strategist with NBC News. Kyle stays connected to Cornell through the CALS Alumni Association and WVBR. Let Kyle captivate you in this interview with host Lou Diamond '92. He'll talk about launching the lifestyle vid...

Hockey player. Full-time student at Cornell. Olympian. Dive into a discussion with gold medalist Brianne Jenner ’15 about managing the dual life of college student and accomplished athlete on this episode of Fresh From the Hill .  “Right away Cornell let’s you know that you don’t have everything figured out.” Read the episode transcript. Hosted by Yasmin Alameddine '16. Additional audio assis...

Halloween is tomorrow and you know what that means?? Our special Cornell ghost stories episode is here! Listen in as we hear spooky Cornell stories from four Cornellians: Jacob Sackett '15, Marie Ceske '20, Subashiny Gengatharan '13, and Garrett Hastings '19.  For more information about the student group "Scare Me," please email their current president Eliza at ebf43@cornell.edu .  Read...

Jeanne Hwang Lam ’04 wants to read your story. Her company, Wattpad , has created a network for users to read, write, and share stories within a platform of 80 million readers. Join host Yasmin Alameddine ’16 as she chats with Jeanne about her path at Cornell and how it led to Wattpad. “ If you know there’s something else you want to do, just go do that. And it doesn’t have to be the right thing,...

In this episode of Fresh from the Hill , you'll hear from Jordan Pares-Kane '18, a Resident Naturalist with the University of Georgia Costa Rica in the Monteverde region of Costa Rica. Hear about Jordan's focus of study and how it relates to her work in sustainability today, how she decided to take a gap year after college to focus on travel and changing the world (and her advice to others who wan...

Michael Charles is an American Indian scientist from the Navajo Nation pursuing a PhD in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The Ohio State University with research interest in bringing ecosystems into the design and decision-making of technical systems while exploring how to use academic research to impact social, political, and ethical issues. Whether it’s through his indigenous background,...

Nina Coutinho is a Toronto native currently working as a Senior Product Manager at Shopify. Nina's path was anything but linear after graduating from Cornell in 2008 and she wants recent grads to know that they don't need to know exactly what they want to do right out of college. Hear Nina's fascinating conversation with host Yasmin Alameddine '16 as they talk about Nina's meandering path, how she...

We're on to season two of Fresh from the Hill and that means new episodes, new stories, and of course new hosts! On this mini-episode you'll be introduced to new host Yasmin Alameddine, class of 2016. Hear about Yasmin's best classes and experiences at Cornell as well as her favorite campus spot and what she's up to today.  Stay tuned this season of Fresh from the Hill to hear more from Yasmi...

We're opening up season two of Fresh from the Hill with a very special bonus episode featuring Cornell Club NYC General Manager Craig Lasnier. Listen in as Craig sits down with host Lou Diamond '92 to discuss the Club's history, present, and future, what special offerings they afford Young Alumni and recent grads, how the Club has aided alumni in times of disaster and tragedy, what notable Cornell...

 This week on Fresh from the Hill , you'll hear clips from the episodes listed below. If you haven't already listened to those episodes in their entirety, we recommend you go back and take a listen! It will be well worth your time.  Episode 13: Meet Aaron Kominos-Smith '04 Episode 14: Making Something Beautiful From a Pile of Dirt - Justin Kondrat '14 Episode 15: The Value of People - Ju...

This week on Fresh from the Hill , you'll hear clips from the episodes listed below. If you haven't already listened to those episodes in their entirety, we recommend you go back and take a listen! It will be well worth your time.  Episode 7: Meet Lou Diamond '92 Episode 8: Little Sister - Irene Li '12 Episode 9: I Just Need a Beer - Jack Mason '11 Episode 10: People are the X Factor - Kia Al...

For the next three weeks, we'll be bringing you the best moments from season one of Fresh from the Hill: Inside Stories of Noteworthy Cornellians .  In this episode, you'll hear clips from the episodes listed below. If you haven't already listened to those episodes in their entirety, we recommend you go back and take a listen! It will be well worth your time.  Episode 1 (trailer): Introd...

From the Brooklyn housing projects, to private Catholic School, to a near 17-year incarceration at Five Points Correctional Facility, to Cornell University, Darnell Epps '19 is not your typical Cornell Senior.  Hear Darnell's fascinating and inspirational story about taking the wrong path in life, lessons learned, and coming out the other side. “One thing that struck me deep was seeing the pa...

Ritu Raman is an engineer, writer, and educator with a passion for introducing bio-hybrid materials into the toolbox of every inventor. She grew up in India, Kenya, and the United States and has learned to appreciate and thrive in diverse and dynamic environments. Her life experiences have shown her that technical innovation can drive positive social change, and this inspires her to help democrati...

Nir Zicherman '08 is the Co-Founder and CTO of Anchor, the easiest way ever to make a podcast, 100% for free. Previously, Nir ran server engineering at Aviary, where he built back-end systems to scale to tens of millions of monthly users until Aviary's acquisition by Adobe in 2014.  In this episode of Fresh from the Hill , hear about Nir's journey as a Government major at Cornell, to NYU Law,...

Dana M. Lerner '14 is a Tony-nominated theater producer and entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of Red Pelican Creative, LLC a social media consulting and management agency providing strategic advice and management consulting on social media, brand enhancement and development primarily in the live entertainment space .   In this episode of Fresh from the Hill , Dana sits down with host A...

Julio Casado '08 studied Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, received a Master’s degree in Management from the Harvard University Extension School, and is a 2018 Fellow of the New Leaders Council. He was born in Dominican Republic, grew up in Harlem, and is proud to call the Bronx home. Hear about how Julio's experience at Cornell in the ILR school directly launched him into a ca...

Justin Kondrat '14 is an inspiring alumnus who defeated all odds to go to his dream school, Cornell University. In this episode, host Aaron Kominos-Smith talks with Justin about his intense passion for horticulture and how Cornell helped him achieve his dream of working as a  horticulturist. Hear about Justin's journey to Cornell as a first-generation college student who grew up in a low inco...