4. Susan Starnes

Oak Park, California · Engineering

Name at Cornell
Susan Minch

Tell us about what you're doing with your life.
My husband, 3-year-old daughter, and I recently moved from

Charlotte, NC to Southern California.  We are having fun exploring the West coast and soaking in the beautiful sunshine.  For work, I am leading the Services business for Guitar Center.  I don’t play the guitar, but it is a fun industry with great people.

What was your favorite class at Cornell, or the one you found the most useful?

One of the most influential classes for me was the Intro to Chemical Engineering.  It helped confirm for me what my major would be.  And, in taking the class, I found my study buddies that would share many hours with me over the course of the next 4 years.

    How has your time at Cornell influenced you since you graduated?

My time at Cornell really helped broaden my horizons.  Meeting so many great people from diverse backgrounds has influenced my perspective for the better.  Great classes like Art History (glad I took it pass / fail!), Philosophy, Business School Classes, and of course Wines were all fantastic learning experiences.

What extracurricular activity or hobby from your time at Cornell was the most meaningful?
Being part of the sailing team was a great experience for me.  I got to travel with interesting people and compete in regattas.  I also found my love for being out on the water.  I knew I loved sailing when I didn't mind that it started snowing while we were practicing on Lake Cayuga.

9. Allison Solomon

Several of the alums featured between now and reunion were degree marshals for their respective colleges during our commencement ceremony in May 1995, an honor awarded to the two students in each college with the highest GPA.

San Francisco, California · Human Ecology

Name at Cornell
Allison Halpern

ajh2@cornell.edu

Tell us about what you're doing with your life.

I live in San Francisco with my husband, 6-year-old son, and three chickens! We spend much of our free time rock climbing, hiking, and camping.

What advice would you give to a student starting at Cornell this year?

Make sure you spend at least one summer at Cornell! It's such a magical time when you can really appreciate your surroundings. And it's the only time of year when it's not likely to snow!

·  What extracurricular activity or hobby from your time at Cornell was the most meaningful?

Serving on, and then co-leading, the Orientation Steering Committee was really meaningful to me, both while I was at Cornell as well as afterwards. What an opportunity to be entrusted with so much responsibility! I learned so many skills—organization, communication, collaboration, delegation—that I use professionally and personally.

What does being a Cornell alumnus mean to you?
Being a Cornell alum means being a part of a community of people doing some pretty amazing things. I am always so inspired when I read about what Cornellians are doing around the world! And I love meeting other alums—no matter when they graduated or what they studied, we always find something in common.

13. Steven Strell

San Jose, California · Engineering

strells@mac.com
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/sllerts
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sstrell

Tell us about what you're doing with your life.

I live in Silicon Valley with my wife Rachel and our 3-year-old, Seth.  Besides our own house, we also own a 5-acre walnut farm!  I worked at Apple in the early 2000's, working on iBooks, and then, later, the 12-inch Powerbooks (before they all became MacBooks).  Now, I am a training engineer for Altera, traveling around the country teaching people how to use my company's software.  I do tech support for all of my family's tech; why not do it for my company's customers as well?

What is your favorite memory of your time at Cornell?

After the concert at Bailey during Senior Week, some friends and I went to McGraw Tower.  One of our friends was a chimesmaster and he was doing the concert that night.  It ended up being an extended concert, mostly just for us.  He played songs on his list and our requests for well over an hour.  Next to graduation, it was the perfect ending to 4 amazing years.

·   What extracurricular activity or hobby from your time at Cornell was the most meaningful?

I wouldn't call it an extracurricular activity, but the opportunity to work for 3 of my 4 years at Cornell Cinema was a life-changing experience.  I enjoyed movies beforehand, but Cornell Cinema opened my eyes to films I had never even considered would be interesting to me: indies, foreign, documentaries, old classics.  And the friends I made through CC, people who weren't engineers, were just amazing.  I still keep in touch with some of them on Facebook.  I still love the movies, see them every chance I get, and enjoy making them myself (for home or work).

What does being a Cornell alumnus mean to you?
It means that for the rest of my life, I am connected to a place that I will never forget, a place that set the course for the rest of my life, a place where I had fun, worked hard, and discovered just who I was.  I don't think I can ever give back to Cornell what Cornell gave to me.

20. Lindsay Monge

San Juan Capistrano, California · Hotel Administration

oarpride@gmail.com

Tell us about what you're doing with your life.
I am currently the SVP-Treasurer at Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.

(NYSE:SHO), where I work along with six other Cornell Hotel School alums. I currently live in San Juan Capistrano with my amazing wife, Ali, and my two awesome boys (who will be turning 7 & 5 shortly). I am the Den Leader for my oldest son's Tiger Cub Scouts Den. Since the boys are such great travelers, my wife and I make travel plans every year to introduce them to new cities around the world and the experiences each city has to offer. I also travel back to the Cornell Campus every year to recruit four summer interns for Sunstone's annual summer internship program. Always great to be back on campus!

What is your favorite memory of your time at Cornell?
Many great memories of my time at Cornell, but the two memories that rise to the top are those morning lightweight crew practices when we were able to see the sun rise up & over the campus and spending the summer after my sophomore year on campus taking classes, relaxing and having a lot of fun.

What advice would you give to a student starting at Cornell this year?
Savor every moment of your time at Cornell and immerse yourself within as many experiences as you can. Take professors (no matter the subject) rather than just taking classes.

What extracurricular activity or hobby from your time at Cornell was the most meaningful?
The four years I spent on the Lightweight Crew Team was the most meaningful experience for me. It instilled a strong sense of determination, self-motivation and teamwork that continues with me today. The memories from many of the practices and races remain fresh in my head even through today.

22. Dave McKew

San Francisco, California · Arts and Sciences

dave.mckew@gmail.com
Twitter: twitter.com/backawayslowly
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dave.mckew

Tell us about what you're doing with your life.
I'm the operations manager at a small software/web development company, but my passion, ever since my Cornell SKITS-O-PHRENICS days, has been writing, performing, directing, and producing stage comedy.  In the last decade, as part of a sketch comedy duo with Colin Benoit '98 (and on my own) I've done hundreds of performances in San Francisco and at comedy festivals all over North America, and even had a short film air on Comedy Central. Colin and I also created a two-man play where the two of us played all 27 roles in the show.  But the greatest accomplishment of my life came in 2011-2012 when, via nutrition and exercise, I lost 112 pounds in 365 days.  I've been pretty good at keeping my life interesting, I suppose!

What was your favorite class at Cornell, or the one you found the most useful?
Psyschology of Visual Communications with James Maas and 16mm Filmmaking with Marilyn Rivchin.  Maas' seminar was basically a photography class about designing effective pictures. Rivchin's class was whatever you made of it—I used it to learn storytelling.  Both classes taught me a lot about patience and connecting to an audience.

What extracurricular activity or hobby from your time at Cornell was the most meaningful?
No question that it was my three years as a charter member of the Cornell SKITS-O-PHRENICS, the now 22-year-old sketch comedy troupe!  It was during this time that I found my passion and realized that I was, first and foremost, a story-teller.  I learned a lot about teamwork, self-expression, group dynamics, compromise, and censorship... plus the really important stuff like how to eat a stick of butter on stage and where to get the best cheap plus-size dresses in Ithaca.

What random or surprising encounters with Cornell or Cornellians have you experienced since you left?
My Cornell nickname was "Madonna Dave."  Twice in the last decade, I've bumped into old classmates from freshman year who happened to ask me what I was up to WHILE I WAS HEADING TO A MADONNA CONCERT (via train/plane) and I had to sheepishly admit it.  "Some things never change," they said!  I swear, it's not the only thing I do, but I have seen 17 Madonna concerts. Another small world story: I did a show in SF a few months ago with a woman who, like me, lived in 227 Risley - many years after I did!

37. Mayank Thanawala

San Jose, California · Engineering

mthanawala@gmail.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/mayankthanawala
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/mthanawala

Tell us about what you're doing with your life.

If you could paint a picture of the American dream, you'd have my life.  I have a wonderful career in software engineering, a beautiful and talented wife, an adorable and rambunctious 10-month-old son, and a charming house around the corner from neighborhood shops and restaurants.

Some highlights:

I met my wife in a running group, and got her attention by inviting her to go flying with me!

I have sung in an a cappella group called Hookslide for the last 15 years.  We've opened for Kool and the Gang, Tower of Power, and, recently, Joan Rivers. Before Hookslide, I had several failed attempts to join groups, including one called Rolls Voyce.

I got my pilot's license in 2005, and am slowly working on becoming an instructor.

I was employee #2 with my current company, HealthLoop - we connect patients to their doctors between visits via a secure web-based app.

What was your favorite class at Cornell, or the one you found the most useful?
I don't remember the  name of the class, but part of it was programming computers to control lab instruments using Assembly language.  It gave me a foundation to understand the connection between programming and what's happening internally in a computer. As languages become more advanced, that link becomes harder to discern on one's own.

What advice would you give to a student starting at Cornell this year?
Enjoy the whole experience.  Cornell is not just about the education you receive in the classroom, though that is top-notch.  Cornell offers a chance to pursue just about anything you're interested.  So, join clubs, go hiking, take day trips, take chances.

Also, no matter what anyone tells you, your career is NOT more important than your personal connections.

If you could change anything about your Cornell experience, what would it be?
I wish I could have had a better idea of what my values, likes and dislikes were when I was in college.  Turns out, I love being outdoors, eating organic mostly vegetarian food, and doing the singer-songwriter thing with my guitar. I can't think of a better place to do all that than Ithaca! But I did way too little of it when I was at Cornell.

42. Danielle Gensch

San Francisco, California · Engineering

Name at Cornell
Danielle Sveska

dgensch@nossaman.com

Tell us about what you're doing with your life.
I'm a partner at a California-based law firm, am married to a fellow attorney (although he went to Stanford) and have a wonderful one-year old daughter.

What was your favorite class at Cornell, or the one you found the most useful?
I really enjoyed Prof. Stedinger's class in Risk Assessment.  It was an excellent introduction on how to accurately communicate risk to a non-technical audience, and I use the skills I learned there nearly every day as an attorney.

If you could change anything about your Cornell experience, what would it be?
While I value the skill set I gained at the College of Engineering, I didn't last long as an engineer.  I might have enjoyed urban and regional planning or history as majors.

What advice would you give to a student starting at Cornell this year?
Take advantage of as many opportunities outside your college and your major as you can -- you will spend a lot of time in class with people in your major, and it is really helpful for your sanity and for becoming a well-rounded person.

52. Meghan Hayes Kirchner

Sacramento, California · Agriculture and Life Sciences

Name at Cornell
Meghan Hayes

meghanhayeskirchner@gmail.com

Tell us about what you're doing with your life.
I am a mother, wife and physician. 

After Cornell, I went to medical school at Syracuse, then internal medicine residency at Travis Air Force Base in California. My husband, Mike, was in my residency class. We were stationed in England for four whirlwind years, and our daughter Brooke was born there. In 2006, we returned to civilian life and pursued fellowship training at Brown. I trained in obstetric medicine, focusing on medical problems in pregnancy. Our son Colin was born in Rhode Island. In 2010, we happily settled in Sacramento, California, doing our best to balance busy practices, family fun and adventure.

What is your favorite memory of your time at Cornell?
Crossing the finish line to win gold at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association regatta in 1995-I was coxswain for women's crew.

How has your time at Cornell influenced you since you graduated?
During fellowship training at Brown, it was a little hard to keep the "what's the color of....?" chant out of my mind at certain times.

What are you most looking forward to at Reunion 2015?
It will be my dad's 50th and my 20th reunion! My brother John '98 and sister-in-law Micaela Chadwick Hayes '99 will hopefully join in the celebration weekend so all of our kids will be inspired to attend Cornell.

54. Andrea Berloff & Drew Filus

Los Angeles, California · Arts and Sciences

Twitter: @andreaberloff and @drewfilus

Tell us about what you're doing with your life.
We are both writers. We've been married nearly 10 years and we have an 8-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter.

What was your favorite class at Cornell, or the one you found the most useful?
Andrea's favorite was David Feldshuh's directing class. "He taught me things that I still use today as a screenwriter." Drew's favorite class was directing with Marilyn Rivchin. "I met my future wife and learned a heck of a lot about filmmaking."

Which Cornell classmates do you keep in touch with?
Almost too many to list. We are in touch with many friends on a daily basis. Cornell gave us some of the most profound relationships we have today. From doctors to artists to filmmakers to professors, the breadth of fields that our friends have entered has made for long-lasting, interesting, and diverse relationships.

If you could change anything about your Cornell experience, what would it be?
We both wish that we had allowed ourselves to live in the moment more. Andrea, "I wish I had taken more classes outside my major." Drew, "I wished I had allowed myself to relax and explore more."

95. Mary Celenza

Los Angeles, California · Agriculture and Life Sciences

Twitter: @evilcannoli

Tell us about what you're doing with your life.
Since Cornell, I've been working in the television industry as a director and a producer. Currently, I'm the co-executive producer on a reality competition show about special makeup effects called Face Off on the Syfy Channel.

What was your favorite class at Cornell, or the one you found the most useful?
I absolutely loved Film and Performance. The class blended performance art and filmmaking and was a great discussion about how art is different to everyone. That class really impacted how I approach my work today.

What is your favorite memory of your time at Cornell?
I loved performing with the Skits-O-Phrenics. My parents surprised me on my final performance senior year and it was so amazing that they could be there for that silliness. As one of the group's original members, (it just celebrated its 20th anniversary), it's crazy to think there are members in the group who are now younger than the group itself!

What advice would you give to a student starting at Cornell this year?
Enjoy your time and explore. Explore alternate ideas—just because you start in a major doesn't mean you'll love it. I started in biology and while I do love the science itself, I found that I really wanted to explore a different type of creativity. Also, enjoy the beauty and nature of Ithaca—it really is lovely.