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'PhDivas' discourse across disciplines and differences

As friends and scholars, doctoral students Elizabeth (Liz) Wayne and Christine (Xine) Yao found common ground amid their academic and cultural differences through a mutual fascination with myriad topics, from pop culture to how to survive in academia. And now, they discuss them for a worldwide audience every week.

The African-American cancer scientist from Mississippi and the Chinese-Canadian literary critic/English scholar from Toronto first met when they were graduate resident fellows together at Hans Bethe House. Talking and laughing together during house dinners, they were soon joined by a gaggle of interested undergraduates.

Last spring, they were inspired to make the discourse public and launched a podcast that has found listeners in six countries.

Cornell Splash! holds day of learning for local youth

More than 180 middle school and high school students gathered at Cornell on Saturday, October 24 to attend classes taught by the university’s undergraduate and graduate students for Splash! at Cornell.

Will Gluck, Director of Easy A and Annie, shares career advice

Will Gluck ’93, writer and director of the reimagined “Annie” movie, as well as “Easy A” and “Fired Up,” visited campus Oct. 16 to share career advice with students as this year’s Munschauer Career Series Speaker for the College of Arts and Sciences Career Development Center.

Gluck, who is based in Los Angeles, spoke to students about the challenges and rewards of working in the entertainment industry.

He encouraged students to run as fast as they can toward their career goals during and after college. He gave an example of two jobs: one a dream job that pays less and the other a job that pays twice as much, but does not have all the interesting aspects that the dream job holds. Many would go for the job that pays more and try for the dream job at another time, but 10 years later, Gluck said, they find themselves stuck in the same boring position.

Alum manages marketing campaigns at MTV

In the last few years, Jaz Nsubuga ’11 has become an expert on the following:

Men’s shaving habits,

Digital and social marketing campaign strategies,

Women’s facial cleaning products,

Credit card habits of wealthy people, and

Coca Cola, among other things.

As manager of integrated marketing at MTV, Nsubuga knows that the best way to market a company or product is to understand it inside-out. And, as a history and Africana Studies major, that’s the part of her job she loves the most – the research.

Nsubuga was on campus in mid-September for a Career Conversations event with the College of Arts & Sciences Career Development Center, sharing her strategies for networking and career success with students.

Nsubuga is still riding the waves from her latest success, a Coca-Cola campaign she created for MTV’s Fandom Awards and Fest in July that generated buzz with a Tumblr social media effort that brought in 28 million votes. She also designed campaigns for Apple and American Legacy that aired during MTV’s Video Music Awards in August.

She joined MTV in January of this year, after starting out in account management at Grey Advertising and at Digitas and then working with the men’s grooming division of Birchbox.

Research fund lets undergraduates gain ecological field experience.

Grad student Rachel Abbott and undergrads Andy Wong ‘17 and Diamond Oden ‘17 have become experts in identifying various creatures of the Adirondacks – the calanoid copepods that they’re studying, as well as myriad others that were biting them as they spent hours taking water samples in canoes.

“It’s very easy to get grumpy up there,” said Abbott, a doctoral student in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB). “It’s buggy, hot and often raining and sometimes we were in the car a long time, taking trips 20 miles down a dirt road. But they didn’t complain a bit.”

Well, not a whole lot anyway. (Wong did say the days were long, the insects “vicious” and the weather “often uncooperative.”)

The three were in the Adirondacks for two weeks this summer studying a common and a rare zooplankton species to determine what characteristics of a lake are important in supporting both species and if common species are restricted to certain types of lakes or if they are habitat generalists that can live in many different environments.

Wong’s field experience was supported by the Elizabeth (“Betty”) Miller Francis ’47 fund in EEB, which pays for graduate fellowships and supports undergraduate fieldwork. Francis had strong interests in education, ecology and the environment, as well as a broad worldview attained through a lifetime of travel.

Arts & Sciences senior fondly remembers her time at Cornell

Rising senior and Chemistry major, Leah Dewitt, is featured in this piece where she looks back at her time in Ithaca:

“For the past four years, I've called Ithaca "home," knowing that one day I'd have to leave. As that day approaches, I'm sad to leave, but thankful for all this town has been for me.”

“Ithaca is doctors and shop owners and professors and clergy and my neighbor's children. Ithaca saw me when I was immobilized from a back injury. Ithaca counseled me in my plans after graduation.”

Please join us at the History Department Open House today, April 29, from 4:30-6pm in 145 McGraw Hall.

 There will be a panel of honors students talking about the thesis process, Professors on hand to speak about their Fall 2015 classes, and a celebration of the release of the 2015 edition of Ezra's Archives, Cornell Historical Society's publication of undergraduate research! If you're interested in the History major or minor, or are already active in the History community at Cornell, this event is for you. We hope to see you there!