Class of 1978 Scholarship
Updated 8/17/07
Below is a letter from the winner of this year's Class of 1978 Scholarship, Melinda Mathis, daughter of our classmate, Andi Rosenstein Mathis.
Academic Year 2007-2008
Dear Class of 1978 (this includes you, Mom),
I want to thank you for giving me this grant, there's no way I could attend Cornell without the financial support that I've received over the last several years from the school, and now, alums.
I grew up in Washington, DC and later its suburbs for high school. I was a varsity rower for 3 years in high school, as, well I was the Programming VP then Social Action VP (community service leader) for my youth group.
I chose Cornell after several visits to campus. The first was with my grandmother, class of '53. She and I went around the school and she told me about Cornell in her day. At that point, it was on my list but not necessarily the top - part of that may have been my stuffed mouse made it through the Statler's laundry system. I later went on a trip sponsored by the Cornell Club of Washington for high school students and that's when I really fell in love with Cornell. This time I met with current students and stayed overnight in one of the dorms with the Red Carpet Society. I applied and the rest is history.
I am a double major in Government and Economics. I'd like to do international financial law. I did the Cornell Pre-law Program in New York City this summer to see if law school is a good fit for me, and I had a great time with the class and the internship. I was placed at a small firm in New York called Reavis Parent Lehrer with a Cornell law alum who made partner less than 10 years after graduating - I hope to be so fortunate. Before law school I'd like to take time to do Teach for America. When I originally applied to colleges I thought that I wanted to teach as my profession. We all know how those original ideas change quite quickly once on campus and I was no different. I still want that opportunity to teach and this is a way to give back to the community. I have been privileged enough to go to a private school, a top public high school (Newsweek says it's in the Top 100), and, of course, Cornell. Not everyone is that lucky. That leads me to my main extra curricular activity.
I am on the executive board of Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed service fraternity that has been at Cornell since 1927. A few hours each week go back to serving either the Cornell Campus or the greater Ithaca area. The executive board plans all the service activities as well as social events. The brotherhood swelled to over 200 people making us one of the largest student groups on campus over the last year. Right now my job as historian is to work with Susan Murphy, a Cornell VP, to give a gift to the school in honor of APO's 80th anniversary, maintain the archives, and digitize over 800 alums into their respective family trees. While community service is very rewarding, I also like to have fun and that requires money in the bank. I work for the Cornell Fitness Centers and lifeguard at Teagle to make that possible. It doesn't hurt that the jobs give me free access to the gyms on campus.
Again, thank you soooo much Class of '78 (Mom included),
Melinda Mathis
mbm47@cornell.edu
P.S. the mom being referenced is Andi Rosenstein (now Mathis)
2006 Winner Joshua Pothen