15. Seth Traum

New York, New York · Engineering

sethtraum@hotmail.com
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/sethtraum
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sethtraum

Tell us about what you're doing with your life.
I am living on the Upper West Side of New York City with my wife Lauren and two sons—Zachary, 11, and Jordan, 8.

I am a partner at a brand and marketing strategy and innovation consultancy called Vivaldi Partners Group. I really enjoy the work, but I make sure I find plenty of time to run around the parks of NYC playing sports with my boys.

After leaving Cornell with an engineering degree, I never practiced it, and instead moved into consulting and then spent many years in finance and banking before transitioning over to the marketing side of the business world.

I now return to campus a few times a year guest lecturing for marketing professors at both the Johnson School and the Hotel School. It is always wonderful to walk the campus, reminisce, and see what's changed.

What is your favorite memory of your time at Cornell?
My whole last semester on campus was wonderful. I had gotten ahead by a class and had queued up a few of the "easier" classes in my major for the final semester. And so I really enjoyed myself. Saw friends who I hadn't seen enough of, explored Ithaca a bit, went out a lot, and gave myself some fantastic final memories to leave campus on a very positive note.

How has your time at Cornell influenced you since you graduated?
Cornell taught me how to WORK. I thought I knew how to work hard before I went to college, but Cornell engineering took things to a whole other level. I learned how to have a work ethic while there, and I have always been proud of my ability to outwork everyone else to figure things out and get them done right. I have never abandoned this, and I have carried it proudly into all that I have done.

What are you most looking forward to at Reunion 2015?
I am looking forward to seeing old friends with whom I've done a horrible job staying in touch, but also enjoying the campus and city. I tend to zip in and out quickly when I come to campus to teach, and I never have enough time to take everything in. So I'm most looking forward to having the time I need to truly enjoy the experience.

16. Carlos Falcon

San Juan, Puerto Rico · Engineering

carlos.falcon@yahoo.com

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

As many of us do, I split my time between family, work, and volunteering for Cornell. My wife of 17 years and I have three daughters, ages 13, 11, and 1 (the last one being an unexpected surprise that has transformed our family life for the better!!). At work I am Director of Operations for Puerto Rico Supplies Group, a distribution company for food, health and beauty care, and other household items. For the past few years I have been a volunteer with CAAAN, president of the Cornell Club of Puerto Rico, and a member of the Cornell University Council. I have been in Puerto Rico since graduation, except for two great years spent in Manhattan while completing an MBA at NYU.

What was your favorite class at Cornell, or the one you found the most useful?
Interestingly enough, the class I enjoyed the most was not related to engineering or business. It was a course on the literature of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It was great to re-read some of his novels, discover new works, and have it all discussed with a group of classmates with so many different points of view.

What extracurricular activity or hobby from your time at Cornell was the most meaningful?
I was involved with the Puerto Rican Students Association, first as Treasurer then President. We had different roles, such as participating in the redefinition of the Latino Studies Program, following the ’93 Day Hall takeover. We also had some fun hosting picnics, volleyball tournaments, happy hours and other events. In February ’95 we held an event at the Statler ballroom in which we presented Puerto Rican art, food and live music to over 400 members of the Cornell community. In addition to flying in 18 musicians, we had guests show up from DC, Boston, NYC, Philadelphia and other nearby cities.

What random or surprising encounters with Cornell or Cornellians have you experienced since you left?
While studying abroad I remember meeting a group of Cornellians at the Venice Carnival.  A few weeks later we ran into the same group at the Eiffel Tower. Very random and very fun times.  

17. Alie Shaper

New Suffolk, New York · Engineering

ashaper@brooklynoenology.com
Twitter:  @@AlieShaper, @bklynoenology
Facebook: facebook.com/AlieShaper, facebook.com/BrooklynOenology


Tell us about what you're doing with your life.
I am living my passion and dreams!  I'm the proprietor and winemaker of Brooklyn Oenology (aka BOE), my winery I started in 2006.  BOE is the tree that grew from the seed of taking that Intro to Wines class in senior year.  My love for wine, and specifically for NY wines, started there. BOE's wines are made entirely from grapes grown in New York, and we feature contemporary works by Brooklyn-based artists on their labels. 

I started the company from scratch after working as a manufacturing engineer for 10 years, and part- and full-time in the wine industry for six years while still engineering.  I admit, I spend a lot of time working; so far my winery and staff is my family, the wines my children - but I love it every day.

What was your favorite class at Cornell, or the one you found the most useful?
Of course the Wines class was my very favorite - but one that was incredibly useful and still shapes my thinking today was ORIE 5100, Design of Manufacturing Systems.  Not only did I love my professor, the now retired Jack Muckstadt, but his course is why I became an entrepreneur. It was the foundation of how to consider the build of a consumer-goods based company, and it taught me how to think in order to create an efficient business. It's also a discipline of thinking that I've applied everywhere in my life.

If you could change anything about your Cornell experience, what would it be?
Hah, hindsight is always 20-20, isn't it?  Well, seven semesters into my engineering degree I considered changing to a Hotelie after taking the Wines class... but then reconsidered when I thought of the repercussions from my folks if I even floated that idea with them. I think I took the exact path I was meant to take, and my engineering degree prepared me well for taking on a manufacturing business. 

The only thing I might have done differently might have been to take more time to graduate, maybe take a semester off to have traveled, or ease the course load.

What does being a Cornell alumnus mean to you?
Being a part of a large family, that extends well beyond my graduating class. Anywhere, anytime I meet another Cornellian, there is an instant connection and innate understanding of one another. I think it has to do with the fact that we all went through the same forms of hell: hard work, hard winter, and a lot of walking.

18. Scott Lajoie

Mashpee, Massachusetts (Cape Cod) · Agriculture and Life Sciences

scottlajoie@hotmail.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ScottMLajoie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scott.lajoie.1


Tell us about what you're doing with your life.I live and work on Cape Cod with my wife of nearly 10 years, Wendy, and three children, Willow, 7, Miles, 5, and Sawyer, 1. After a career in magazines, in which I worked for publications as disparate as Forbes magazine in the Bay Area during the dot-com boom and Cape Cod Magazine, I now write and edit for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, a global non-profit located here on Cape Cod. I do some freelance articles from time to time for some local publications, from the Boston Globe to the Cape Cod Times, and I tutor local students to prepare for the SATs. I am on the board of the Cornell Club of Cape Cod and the Class of 1995 Council. I have for years participated in CAAAN as well.

Which Cornell classmates do you keep in touch with? 
I keep in touch with former roommates Steve Miller, Dean Bowles, Steve Paul, and Jen (Pierson) Logan, as well as Dave Grubman, Mith Niles, and a slew of Big Red Band and Cornell Daily Sun friends.

How has your time at Cornell influenced you since you graduated? 
Any time I put a lot of effort into an endeavor, I am reminded how it pales in comparison the hard work I put into everything I did at Cornell.

What extracurricular activity or hobby from your time at Cornell was the most meaningful? 
The Cornell Daily Sun was definitely that for me. I wouldn't be where I am today if I hadn't had that learning experience. It's as if my career started three years sooner.

19. Kosha Brightwell Massal

Toronto, Canada · Industrial and Labor Relations

Name at Cornell
Kosha Brightwell

krbrightwell@yahoo.com


Tell us about what you're doing with your life.
I'm an in-house lawyer for a pharmaceutical company.  I negotiate agreements with our customers- which are the  entities that actually purchase products-  like wholesalers and distributors.

Which Cornell classmates do you keep in touch with?
Too many to name!  My very best friends are Cornell alumni-- we've stood up at each others' weddings, share parenting advice, travel together, give career advice, are god-parents to each others' kids.  They are my family. 

How has your time at Cornell influenced you since you graduated?
Cornell made my current life possible.  I was a poor kid from a bad neighborhood and I was able to start experiencing the world. I lived in Akwe:kon, language house, and Ujamaa. I studied abroad.  I gave rowing crew a try.  I worked for the public service center, the Olin archives and Sibley library.  I'm now married to a Frenchman, have visited more than 20 countries on four continents, speak 3 languages, sew, ice skate & ski--and I'm nowhere near done learning, exploring and "becoming."

What does being a Cornell alumnus mean to you?
I always think of Cornell as the "blue collar Ivy."  It begins with Ezra Cornell's stated intention to found a University where any man can study any subject and follows through with the true embodiment and realization of that intention. From admitting African-Americans from very the first years of the University to continuing to study and support veterinary medicine, agriculture, textiles, hospitality management.  I'm very proud to be an alum of an institution with such an egalitarian legacy.

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.

21. Stephen Church

San Salvador, El Salvador · Agriculture and Life Sciences

schurch32@gmail.com

Tell us about what you're doing with your life.
After graduating from Cornell, I joined the Peace Corps and served as a Volunteer in southern Ecuador. I met my wife Katy there, and we married towards the end of my service. After Peace Corps, we came to the US so I could work on a master's degree in development economics. In 2001, our son Joshua was born, and soon after we moved to Washington, DC, where I worked for an international development organization for two years before heading back to Ecuador. By the time Joshua was in kindergarten, we thought it was time to lay down some roots somewhere in the US, and we settled (at least temporarily) in Tampa, Florida, where I worked in international education for seven years. Eventually the travel itch came back, and we are overseas again with Peace Corps, but this time in El Salvador where I am Director of Programming and Training.

What is your favorite memory of your time at Cornell?
I have lots of great memories from my time at Cornell, but my favorite comes from the night before graduation. Holland Foote and I were spending one last night with friends at the Royal Palm Tavern, and we had heard that it was tradition to sing the alma mater sometime before closing. Last call came and went but no alma mater, so when the lights came on and the bouncers started herding people out, we began to sing (shout?) the alma mater, and before we got to "waves of blue," the whole place was singing. It still gives me goosebumps!

What random or surprising encounters with Cornell or Cornellians have you experienced since you left?
When I arrived in Ecuador for training as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I met Jenny Weisent, a fellow Cornellian from the CALS Class of 1995. Despite studying in the same college for all four years and having quite a few friends in common, we had never met! Sometimes the world can be a strange place...

What does being a Cornell alumnus mean to you?
Cornell has always been a part of my life. My parents both went to Cornell, my father spend much of his career there, and my sisters both went there, too. But being an alumnus of Cornell doesn't just give me another connection to my family, it connects me to a much bigger family that has made and continues to make so many positive contributions to the world. Go Big Red!