One Wish: Amanda Kai Newman ’11

Amanda Kai Newman ’11 is a New York-based costume designer who recently came off the Madonna Celebration Tour as Madonna’s assistant costume designer. Other recent work includes Glimmerglass Opera wardrobe designer and Metropolitan Opera House over-hire shopper. She holds an M.F.A. in costume design from the University of Cincinnati.

The strongest wish I have is for peace, love, and unity. I know that is cheesy, generic, and similar to the “world peace” answer most pageant contestants give, but I do wish for all of us to get along.

There are always rifts between countries, people, and ethnicities. And there will always be differences of opinion. However, understanding each other and where we come from is important to making decisions and helps us have a broader perspective on the world. Using our liberal arts education to understand the world from those various points of view gives us a more cohesive worldview.

As a great man once said “One Love! … One Heart! … Let’s get together and feel all right … I’m pleading’ to mankind… One Love!”—Bob Marley

Read all 11 Wishes for 2025 from Cornell visionaries.