On Topic

 

“What did you learn at Cornell from someone with a different background from you?”

“As an international student from Japan, Cornell was my first experience of diversity. Almost everyone I interacted with had a different background from me. I was fascinated by learning our different ways of being in and understanding the world.  I discovered the enjoyment of crossing cultural boundaries.  

I learned our differences can bind us together.

 It inspired me to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical psychology to further study cross-cultural issues in psychology.”

Sayaka Machizawa ’01
Senior clinical scientist, Bracket
Chicago, Illinois

 

“From more than one person, I learned the value of approaching a task from multiple viewpoints.  

There is always more than one way of proceeding and more than one successful conclusion.  

The best result is often obtained when multiple successful ‘conclusions’ are reached, and the learnings from each of them are combined into that best result.”

John Schoenfelder ’72
Statistical research director, AbbVie, Inc.
Gurnee, Illinois

 

 

 

“I learned that having different cultural viewpoints is vital to moving forward as a society. If two people both look at the same historical fact from a textbook, you will have two completely different cultural takes on that fact and both are necessary to learn from.”

Ryan Wiley ’19
Batavia, Illinois

 

 

 

“In the past, I’ve taken some situations for granted. But, I’ve learned that certain situations may be of the utmost importance to people of different backgrounds.”

Vince Brautigam
Head football coach