10. Stephen Przynosch

Toledo, Ohio · Agriculture and Life Sciences

sprzynosch@hotmail.com

Tell us about what you're doing with your life.
After graduating from Cornell I went to medical school in my

hometown of Buffalo, NY along with several other Cornellians. Residency in Family Medicine took me to Toledo, OH where I also met my wife, Tammy.  We married in 2004 and were blessed with our daughter, Isabella, a few years later. Professionally, I am in a private Family Medicine practice with four other physicians. One day a week I split my time between precepting Family Medicine Residents in their clinic and also working as an Associate Medical Director of our Health System's Health Insurance Company (ProMedica Health System and Paramount HealthCare, respectively). Outside of work, I am active with our church and Isabella's school.  We just enjoyed our annual Father-Daughter Dance!


Which Cornell classmates do you keep in touch with?

Toshiki Matsui - we go way back.  We first met in 2nd grade and have been friends ever since. Even after our time at Cornell, while I was in medical school in Buffalo, he was in grad school in Buffalo and we were roommates until dental school took him to Washington, DC.  I also have kept in touch with Stephen Koster over the years. Both Toshiki and Stephen live in the DC area and I have been able to visit both on various occasions over the years. I also hear from Stephen McKee every once in a while.

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

No doubt about it, Cornell opens doors.  It also helped me grow as a leader. Having been in leadership roles with the Cornell National Scholars and the CALS honor society (Ho-Nun-De-Kah), I felt confident tackling leadership roles in my career as well. I went on to be the Chief Resident at my training program. Later in my practice I became our Lead Physician as we are part of a larger Health System. Most recently, I have served as the Vice Chair of the Family Medicine Department at Toledo Children's Hospital.

What extracurricular activity or hobby from your time at Cornell was the most meaningful?
I was active in the Cornell National Scholars. I got involved in its Mentoring program as a Freshman and ultimately came to be the Mentoring chair for a few years. A group of us would head to a local Middle School twice a week in the late afternoon to help at-risk students with homework and also to mentor them so they could reach their full potential...like a "Big Brother/Big Sister program. They loved when we would take them to dinner in the campus dining halls. I worked with the same young man for a few years...truly an eye opening experience.

11. Jason Ardizzone-West

Yonkers, New York · Architecture, Art, and Planning

jason@ardizzonewest.com


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

After graduating from Cornell with a Bachelor of Architecture degree, I worked as an architect for years, got married to an amazing woman, then took some time off to be a full time dad to our two children. When it was time to enter the professional world again, I decided to pursue theatrical set design, which had always been my real passion. I went back to school, got my MFA in set design from New York University, and am now happily working as a freelance set designer. I’m currently juggling: teaching set design at NYU Tisch, designing two shows at Juilliard, designing the set for the national tour of “Bullets Over Broadway.” designing Cornell’s sesquicentennial weekend celebration events, renovating my basement, and getting ready for movie night with my family. In other words, life is good!

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

I loved so many of my classes at Cornell—honestly, there is not one that stands out by itself, but I definitely loved every single year of “archi-torture studio,” as well as the few classes I took outside the College of Architecture, Art & Planning - particularly the Intro to Native American Studies class.

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

I had so many great extracurricular experiences at Cornell, working in the scene shop at the Performing Arts Center, living in Risley and making theater there, rock-climbing, working for Cornell Productions… but I think my favorite extracurricular activity was working with the Cornell Concert Commission loading-in concerts and working security, and running spot light, etc. I met so many people who shared a love of live performance, but who came from so many different backgrounds and colleges.

If you could change anything about your Cornell experience, what would it be?
I don’t have many regrets in my life (or my Cornell experience), but if I had it all to do over again I would have participated in the Cornell in Rome program. I still haven’t been to Italy!

12. Nancy Gedeon

Denver, Colorado · Architecture, Art and Planning

neg2@cornell.edu

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

I live in Denver, Colorado, with my boyfriend, and work in local government as a demographic analyst.

What is your favorite memory of your time at Cornell?

I had the luxury of taking one class during a three-week summer session after freshman year.  The weather was gorgeous and the small class size was refreshing after all the large lecture classes of the previous semesters.  It was like a vacation and it’s when my fondness for Ithaca developed.

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

The question should be which class was least useful.  All my classes were interesting and useful, from my very first urban and regional studies class, The American City, to Introduction to Modern Dance, where I realized my love for dance.

How has your time at Cornell influenced you since you graduated?
Cornell made me a better person.  I may not have had the best time while I was there, but I always knew I would appreciate it in the long run.  Cornell opened my mind, surrounded me with amazing people, and made me humble.

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.

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.