On Topic

“What do you love about Mount Vernon?”

“Mount Vernon feels like home. The charm of the community and how it embraces the college and its students are just the beginning of what I love about Mount Vernon. The Hilltop, First Street, the two-story homes, and the initial sight of King Chapel as you drive into town from Highway 1 are all pieces of that charm. Mount Vernon is welcoming and always has been.”

Erica Reimers ’97
Coralville, Iowa

 

 

“For me, Mount Vernon was Camelot. My parents were alumni and I’d seen many pictures of the ravishing hills of the campus and its iconic, timeless buildings. I was also entranced by the charming town and the expansive agricultural fields nearby that would greet me—not to speak of the exhilarating intellectual and artistic experiences that awaited me at Cornell.”

Lars Clutterham ’70

Downey, California

 

 

“It is very quiet, it has fresh air, and the people are kind and friendly because they are not as busy. I’ll give you an example that made an impression on me. Last year the Chinese students all went to dinner and it started raining. We went into the bank and someone there asked if we were Cornell students and then drove us back to campus over several trips in his car. In Beijing that would not happen.”

Yuzhe Zheng ’20

Beijing, China

 

 

“Mount Vernon is not too small to have a great array of festivals. One is Magical Night in early December. I was standing in front of City Hall watching kids line up to see Santa, enjoying hot cocoa that was being given away, and listening to carolers. Suddenly it started to snow—the first snow of the season. I honestly wanted to go all ‘Jimmy Stewart-George Bailey’ and run down the street yelling ‘Merry Christmas’ to the people and the buildings.”

John Harp

Vice President for Student Affairs