Why am I, or will be, awesome? Because I say so. If other people don’t think that, that’s probably due to lack of interest in the field rather than anything else. However, since I don’t think my major alone dictates my awesomeness, here I go:
Present awesomeness: the fact that the high school kids still call me for advice on management and questions about random shtuff even now hopefully suggests that they respect the work I did there. I think that makes me pretty awesome.
I am the Cornell Symphony Orchestra librarian who got all of the bowings on the parts before they were copied so that the string players can have one less thing to worry.
I am currently switching my primary instrument to the percussion, and I am practicing the snare part in Shostakovich Symphony No.10 in preparation for a rehearsal on Monday at which time three of us will compete for the part. I think it’s pretty awesome of me to be able to switch instruments after 14 years on the violin and be a concert percussionist. Especially with the lack of experience in instruments other than mallet percussion (and most orchestra pieces aren’t mallet-heavy). I’m also helping out with the Cornell University Wind Ensemble due to a deficiency in percussioniss.
I am currently working on preparing for my honors research regarding Western Bluebirds. After a meeting with the graduate student who will supervise me over the summer, I will be applying for scholarships, and then I’ll be in Hastings Reserve (UCB) from midMay to midJuly doing field research. Yes, a lot of people do research here, but I still think it’s awesome that I’m going to be doing this, since my first year helping with these birds’ research made me consider graduate studies.
I am the Cornell Asian Pacific-Island Student Union (CAPSU) liaison for Japan US Association (JUSA) here at Cornell. Since the president and two other members of JUSA also attend CAPSU meetings, my job is minimal to none. HOWEVER, I have now unofficially taken the role of tshirt designer and logo designer for the club, and now I am diligently learning to use Photoshop. My last tshirt design was made after the initial designer’s tshirt designs received poor reception. We sold 33 tshirts (out of 35; 2 didn’t sell due to size) when the initial prediction was perhaps 15-20 tshirts. Furthermore, for the next event, I am in the logistics aspect, as the last event the officers due to their pure stupidity and stubbornness refused to listen to my comments, and as a result it was quite inefficient and disorganized, and quite frankly the event was salvaged due to the diligent teamwork of the eboard members, not the leadership of the officers. The fact that I stay with this group, due to my passion for my culture, makes me awesome. They know they’re screwed if I leave. They’ll never admit it, but they know.
As a member of CAPSU, I am assisting with the publicity aspect of our upcoming fall event. While I may not be the most proficient on Photoshop and the likes, I seem to be pretty good at posters and fliers, so I have been learning. I learn new things, relatively quickly; hence my awesomeness.
With my extracurriculars out of the way…
The Animal Science department at Cornell has been ranked #1; regardless of rank, I think this is an amazing department. In addition to its initial focus on agricultural aspect of animal science, they are now offering courses for pre-veterinary interest. The courses they offer are, in my opinion, quite interesting. Animals of interest include dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, poultry, pets, laboratory animals, and, to a lesser extent, exotic species. Topics include physiology, genetics, nutrition, growth, production systems, and management. I think that’s pretty spiffy. BTW, I’m an Animal Science major with an interest in Animal Behavior. I’m actually in a graduate seminar for Neurobiology and Behavior called “Animal Personalities!,” in which we critically analyze this relatively new field of animal personalities and behavior.
With my present awesomeness out of the way…
Future awesomeness: Currently I am interested in graduating early and getting a PhD/DVM at a veterinary school, with my PhD in animal science or animal behavior. This lowers my financial burden significantlly through grants and financial aid from the PhD portion; at the same time, I am trained for my current career goal. I plan to work at a university veterinary hospital someday so I may be close to research as well as the clinic aspect of the field. There are so many different species in animals, and if we are to live with them and to enforce our lifestyle upon them, we should be responsible for their welfare.
