Summer 2017: In Brief

By Cornell Report Staff | June 26, 2017

Graduates collect Fulbright, Peace Corps appointments
Two members of the class of 2017 and another from the class of 2016 have earned Fulbright honors, and two others have been selected for the Peace Corps. A total of 16 Fulbrights have been awarded to Cornell graduates in the past 12 years. In addition, two Cornell faculty received Fulbright awards in the past two years.

Yiyari De La Garza ’17
FROM: Coral Springs, Florida
MAJOR: Russian and international relations
ASSIGNMENT: One of four Fulbright English Teaching Assistants in the former Soviet republic of Georgia

Michelle Ngirabul ’16
FROM: Saipan
MAJOR: Global health studies
ASSIGNMENT: Fulbright research grant to explore iron supplement compliance in young and pregnant women in Maharashtra, India

Sydney Strunk ’17
FROM: Ottumwa, Iowa
MAJORS: Spanish and biochemistry and molecular biology
ASSIGNMENT: Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at the National University of Colombia in Bogota, Columbia

Carly Pierson ’17
FROM: Durango, Colorado
MAJOR: Environmental studies
ASSIGNMENT: Peace corps agriculture extension volunteer in Paraguay

Jeannette Guerra ’17
FROM: Los Angeles, California
MAJOR: Biology; anthropology minor
ASSIGNMENT: Peace Corps youth development coordinator in Costa Rica

What are the odds?
What do you think the odds are of a professor from a small college in a small town in Iowa winning a prestigious statistics award? In hindsight, 100 percent.

Cornell Professor Ann Cannon was the 2017 recipient of the national Mu Sigma Rho William D. Warde Statistics Education Award.

Cannon, Cornell’s Watson M. Davis Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, has taught at Cornell since 1993 and lists her main professional interest as statistics education. She is co-author of the 2012 textbook “Stat 2: Building Models for a World of Data.”

Mu Sigma Rho is the national statistics honorary society, and it presents the award annually to a professor with evidence of excellence in teaching statistics and a lifetime devotion to statistics education. In its nomination her department described her as “a passionate advocate for students” and “a caring teacher for students at all levels of ability.”

Mount Vernon quirks
On the west edge of Mount Vernon in a farm field is a tree whose enormous branches support the dangling remains of dozens of worn-out shoes. The shoe tree is popular among Mount Vernon youth, and even Cornell students. Members of the Rams cross country and track teams have been known to make a pilgrimage there at the end of a season to fling their spent running shoes.

The Top 10 List
Weirdest things mailed to students:

Potato (with postage attached and a note written on it)
Muffler
2012 FIAT 500 (Yes, it was driven from California, but arrangements were made through, and it was received and signed for by, the Mail Center.)
Broom
Entire turkey dinner
Glitter bombs
Toy monkey (with postage attached and a note written on it)
Live Christmas tree
Plastic Coke bottle filled with candy
Chicago pizza