Orientation Steering Committee, Co-Chair
Name: Nikki Stevens
Hometown: Newtown, Pennsylvania
College & Major: Engineering - Biological Engineering
Year of Graduation: 2011
Interesting Facts About Yourself: My favorite color is green.  I would eat pizza every day if I could.  I love being outside, playing soccer and skiing.  I can’t stand Cheerios, even the smell makes me gag.
Activities at Cornell: OSC, Cornell EMS, Engineering Peer Advising, TAing and Intramural Sports. 
Orientation Volunteer Experience: Orientation Leader 2008, OSC 2009
Favorite Places at Cornell: Duffield Hall and CTB
Favorite Classes or Lecture at Cornell: Psychology 1101, taking class with 1300 other people at the same time is absolutely amazing, and Prof. Maas is a total performer!
Favorite Cornell Memory: Going sledding down Libe slope with all my friends after the first snowfall of the year…and then waiting in the ER until 4 am while my friend got her arm casted.  
Favorite Cornell Tradition or Legend: Waiting in line to get hockey tickets, and watching people throw fish (and one huge octopus) onto the ice during the Cornell v. Harvard Game.
Advice to New Students: Get Involved! Whatever it is that you like to do, go do it. Join clubs, play a sport, go to concerts, movies, and shows. Cornell is full of amazing opportunities to both try new things and continue the old things that you are passionate about. Schoolwork is schoolwork, it is the activities you join which truly make your Cornell experience unique and memorable.

Name: Alexei Adan
Hometown:Miami, Florida
College & Major: Arts & Sciences – Chemistry and Biology (Biochemistry) Double Major
Year of Graduation: 2011
Interesting Facts About Yourself: I’ve been swimming competitively since I was seven years old, and it’s always been my greatest passion. My goal was always to become an Olympic gold medalist, and it’s a dream I continue to pursue to this day. My friends also tend to call me a commie baby since I’m half-Russian and half-Cuba. Random fact: I love astronomy and the 80s!
Activities at Cornell: Cornell Daily Sun: News Writer, Chemistry Research, Intramurals: Tennis
Orientation Volunteer Experience: Orientation Leader 2008, Orientation Supervisor 2009
Favorite Places at Cornell: The view from the top of the clocktower is definitely one of the highlights at Cornell. It’s breathtaking to see all of Ithaca and Cayuga Lake from that one vantage point. Libe Slope also offers a great place to just sit back and unwind on a nice, warm day.
Favorite Classes or Lecture at Cornell: I found the honors organic chemistry sequence (CHEM3590-3600) with Professor Ganem and Professor Lin one of the best pair of classes I’ve taken at Cornell. PSYCH1101 with Professor Maas is also a really interesting class – I’ve become a sleep Nazi ever since taking it! I also really enjoyed PHYS2207-2208 and MATH2220.
Favorite Cornell Memory: I could probably name a million… but I’d definitely say that one of the most bizarre was arriving to my last honors chemistry lecture freshman year, only to find my professor serving glass beakers full of wine to all of us.
Favorite Cornell Tradition or Legend: Slope Day is definitely one of the best Cornell traditions. I remember the huge turnout last year when the Pussycat Dolls performed – there was such intensity within the performances and the crowd’s energy that is just unparalleled elsewhere. It’s a great way to end a stressful year!
Advice to New Students: Be sure to meet everybody in your hall as soon as possible. The good friends you make here will undoubtedly become your second family. All it takes is a simple introduction!

Name: Erin Button
Hometown: Mequon, Wisconsin
College & Major: Arts and Sciences- Anthropology and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Year of Graduation: 2011
Interesting Facts About Yourself: I love to read! I own hundreds of books, and if I could, I would never stop reading and would spend all of my money on books.  Every year I buy new ones, and I never have anywhere to put them in my room.
Activities at Cornell: Alpha Xi Delta sorority, Alpha Phi Omega co-ed service fraternity, Meinig Family Cornell National Scholars, Peer Advising
Orientation Volunteer Experience: Orientation Leader 2008; Orientation Supervisor 2009
Favorite Places at Cornell: AD White Library in Uris Library; sitting under a tree on the Arts Quad.
Favorite Classes or Lecture at Cornell: FGSS 2010, Intro to Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.  This class was amazing because we became like a big family and we all still keep in touch.
Favorite Cornell Memory: Playing Ultimate Frisbee in the snow during freshman year with everyone from my hall.
Favorite Cornell Tradition or Legend: The all-campus scream on the night before finals start. It’s a great way to let out your frustrations!
Advice to New Students: Get out of you comfort zones and explore new things, whether it’s new classes/subjects, meeting new people, or joining new clubs.  You may find you love something you never thought you would!

Name: Preshita Date
Hometown: Rochester, NY
College & Major: CALS – Biological Sciences concentrating in Neurobiology and Behavior. I also tell people I’m an Economics major because I’m taking all the classes, but I’m not actually.
Year of Graduation: 2011
Interesting Facts About Yourself: I am obsessed with Taco Bell, I absolutely love Harry Potter, my favorite pastime is stargazing, and sometimes I like to pretend I am a ninja.
Activities at Cornell: Empathy, Assistance, and Referral Services (EARS); Society for India (SI); Pre-professional Association Towards Careers in Health (PATCH)
Orientation Volunteer Experience: Orientation Leader 2008; Orientation Supervisor 2009
Favorite Places at Cornell: Libe Café in Olin Library, the slope on a sunny day or a clear night
Favorite Classes or Lecture at Cornell: BIONB 222 – Introduction to Neurobiology. This course covered so many cool aspects of neurobiology, ranging from the sensory systems (vision, hearing, etc) to learning and memory to neurological disorders and more! Also, PHIL 110 – Ethics, Poverty, and the Global Economy. This was a really intimate discussion-based class on basically everything that was wrong with the world. It gave me an interesting philosophy-based perspective on economics, poverty, world hunger, etc.
Favorite Cornell Memory: Midnight study breaks at Nasties during freshman year! Now that we all have cars, these have shifted to Taco Bell, of course.
Favorite Cornell Tradition or Legend: If a couple walks around Beebe Lake holding hands, they are destined to get married!
Advice to New Students: Being at Cornell gives you the chance to do so many things you never would have been able to do otherwise. Go rock-climbing and sailing; learn about astronomy or how to break dance; try Japanese food; attend a political debate; join random clubs and meet crazy people; make the most of this experience!

Name: Bob Kacergis
Hometown: Malvern, Pennsylvania
College & Major: Engineering- Operations Research & Information Engineering
Year of Graduation: 2012
Interesting Facts About Yourself: I am the oldest of 7 kids, I have performed at Carnegie Hall and the White House, and I don't like soda or pizza, I live right above CTB.
Activities at Cornell: President of the Club Squash Team, OSC
Orientation Volunteer Experience: Orientation Leader 2008, OSC 2009
Favorite Places at Cornell: The Slope on a clear fall day.  I also love making the trek up to North on a beautiful day, as well as the obligatory stop at Bear Nasties.
Favorite Classes or Lecture at Cornell: Psych 1101. Prof. Maas makes already interesting material even more interesting. Plus, it's always good to take a class with 7 or your friends.
Favorite Cornell Memory: Every single night, we had a group of 10-20 people from Donlon 3rd Floor go to dinner at the same time.  So many funny and memorable moments and conversations occurred during our dinners.  I also enjoyed just living in Donlon.  With so many different people in one dorm, there’s an adventure waiting to happen every night.
Favorite Cornell Tradition or Legend: Screaming the midnight before first finals. It's a little comforting to know that everybody else is as stressed as you are.
Advice to New Students: Keep your door open...literally. Cornell is about meeting people just as much as it is getting a first-class education. If you make yourself approachable in the dorm, you will get to know the people around you, many of whom will become your best friends going forwards.

Name: Thomas Kozakiewicz (TJ)
Hometown: Riverhead, New York
College & Major: Engineering- Civil Engineering
Year of Graduation: 2011
Interesting Facts About Yourself: I am Red-Green color blind
Activities at Cornell: ACACIA Fraternity
Orientation Volunteer Experience: Orientation Leader 2008, OSC 2009
Favorite Places at Cornell: Trillium, Libe Slope, Ag Quad, Suspension Bridge, Olin Library.
Favorite Classes or Lecture at Cornell: Bill Nye the Science Guy lectures are always an awesome experience! Portraits of Self First-Year Writing Seminar was also a lot of fun for me, a lot of cool books to read and dicuss (I enjoy reading).
Favorite Cornell Memory: Getting a line number to get a season pass for the hockey games and then waiting in Bartels all night to actually get the tickets.
Favorite Cornell Tradition or Legend: Dragon Day where all the freshman architects build a giant dragon to parade around and then burn in the middle of the arts quad.
Advice to New Students: Get involved, there are a crazy amount of activities offered and you are sure to find one that you really enjoy. Don't let your schoolwork get out of control; you want a healthy balance between studying and relaxation.

Name: Jamie Langenhan
Hometown: Voorhees, New Jersey
College & Major: Arts and Sciences- Biological Sciences
Year of Graduation: 2011
Interesting Facts About Yourself: I love baking, painting, and reading (especially when it is about ancient history or pathogenic diseases or both!).
Activities at Cornell: Aside from being a member of the OSC, I volunteer at the Ithaca Free Clinic, and conduct research in the Perry Laboratory in the Department of Plant Pathology.  I am a biochemistry TA. As design editor for the Salubrion Magazine, I contribute articles and artwork .
Orientation Volunteer Experience: Orientation Leader 2008, Orientation Supervisor 2009
Favorite Places at Cornell: I really like the Dairy Bar because it is close to my lab and Cornell ice cream is amazing.  When I study, I like being in the A.D. White Library in Uris Library.  I also love walking through the Arts Quad, because it is beautiful in any weather.
Favorite Classes or Lecture at Cornell: Ancient Egyptian Civilization, Microbiology, So You Want to be a Caveman?, Experimental Archeology, Archeology of Roman Private Life, Biochemistry.
Favorite Cornell Memory: The energy at Playfair at 2009 August Orientation was insane!  It was so much fun being able to take part in one giant icebreaker with 3000 pumped up Cornelians.
Favorite Cornell Tradition or Legend: The pumpkin on the top of the clock tower. A true mystery.
Advice to New Students: Do not be afraid to try new things.  This University offers great opportunities, but you can only experience them if you put yourself out there and explore.

Name: Corey Letcher
Hometown: Brandywine, Maryland
College & Major: Engineering- Chemical Engineering
Year of Graduation: 2012
Interesting Facts About Yourself: I like playing sports, OSC, spending time with friends, listening to good music, and good conversation.  I am always looking to make situations better and enjoy everything I do, regardless of the difficulty or of how dismal the situation may be.  I like singing and dancing at random times, well actually I just like the awkward stares that ensue after I do such activities.
Activities at Cornell: Club Bowling, OSC, Engineering Peer Advisor, Zeta Psi, Professor Jeffery Varner’s Research Group, community service.
Orientation Volunteer Experience: Orientation Leader 2009
Favorite Places at Cornell: Arts Quad, Various libraries, and Olin Hall where I claim as my second dwelling.
Favorite Classes or Lecture at Cornell: Um, I am an Engineer; all of my classes are abysmal.
Favorite Cornell Memory: Pulling all nighters in the Cocktail lounge in Uris watching YouTube and doing homework, but mostly watching YouTube, because who really wants to do homework?
Favorite Cornell Tradition or Legend: The pumpkin on the Clock Tower legend is my favorite.
Advice to New Students: Get involved on campus and make tons of friends and connections, it will make your life easier and so much fun!  Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it, it is always there and it is so easy to find if you know where to look, and chances are someone you know does!

Name: Bethany Nichols
Hometown: Fort Wayne, IN
College & Major: Arts & Sciences- Government and Sociology Double Major
Year of Graduation: 2012
Interesting Facts About Yourself: I enjoy any outdoor activity.  I will bake anything containing chocolate as an ingredient.  I enjoy staying up really late at night.  I like to stay in at least one night on the weekends, catch up on work, talk with my family, and drink tea or coffee with friends as we study. 
Activities at Cornell: Crusade for Christ Praise Team Member, The Classnotes, Arts & Sciences Ambassador
Orientation Volunteer Experience: Orientation Leader 2009
Favorite Places at Cornell: The trail around Beebe Lake, North Campus, the top floor of the Johnson Museum, the top of the slope overlooking Ithaca and Cayuga Lake
Favorite Classes or Lecture at Cornell: American Educational in the Political and Social Context and Controversies about Inequality.
Favorite Cornell Memory: During orientation week, a group of students from my floor went to West Campus to get dinner.  We walked back up the slope and sat outside of Uris Library to watch the sun set and the stars appear.  We began talking with a professor who using a mini telescope to gaze at the stars.  I was amazed that a professor would be willing to talk and show so much interest in a group of freshmen before classes had even begun!  It was one of the moments when I realized that I could truly be happy here at Cornell. 
Favorite Cornell Tradition or Legend: Study Week.  Not only is it awesome that Cornell gives us so much time to prepare for finals and catch up on sleep, but it’s also so fun because many of the student organizations I’m involved in have “end of the semester” celebrations.  Study week is a great time to balance productivity and spending time with friends.
Advice to New Students: Be the student that you are.  You will encounter so many people with such diverse interests and abilities.  You don’t have to take the same amount of credit hours as everyone else on your floor.  You don’t have to pretend like you have everything under control.  You don’t have to take classes just because it seems like everyone else is taking them.  College is an awesome opportunity to study anything you could possibly want for four years.  While it’s helpful to get your peers’ advice at times, study and do what brings you the most joy. 

Name: Stephen Strenk
Hometown: Irvine, CA
College & Major: School of Hotel Administration, Hotel
Year of Graduation: 2012
Interesting Facts About Yourself: I’ve gone snowboarding in the mountains and swimming at the beach in the same day. One of my relatives is one of the six men raising the American flag in the Iwo Jima Monument. My whole family went to Cornell: Mom ’78, Dad ’78, brother ’07, sister ’09.
Activities at Cornell: Cornell Real Estate Club, Hotel Ezra Cornell, Competitive Men’s Intramural Soccer
Orientation Volunteer Experience: Orientation Leader 2009
Favorite Places at Cornell: Statler, Lynah Rink, Dairy Bar, CTB
Favorite Classes or Lecture at Cornell: Business Computing, Financial Accounting, Bowling, Intro to Architecture
Favorite Cornell Memory: Cornell hockey games
Favorite Cornell Tradition or Legend: Emphasizing the “red” in the excerpt “the rocket’s red glare” of the national anthem to show school pride.
Advice to New Students: Meet new people – the friends you make here will likely be your life-long friends. Go beyond your comfort zone – try new things that you’ve never done before. Join groups, organizations, clubs, etc. – stay active in the Cornell community. Be a leader and a listener. Study hard but play harder – school will be stressful but learn how to manage your time so you can get out and enjoy yourself. Dress warm – it gets a little cold here.

Name: James Zhang
Hometown: Honolulu, HI
College & Major: Engineering- Operations Research & Information Engineering
Year of Graduation: 2011
Interesting Facts About Yourself: I have a baby brother named Braylon; I’m 19 years older than him.
Activities at Cornell: Kappa Delta Rho Fraternity, INFORMS
Orientation Volunteer Experience: Orientation Leader 2008, Orientation Supervisor 2009
Favorite Places at Cornell: Top of Libe Slope. The sunset is beautiful and memorable; sledding down is a ton of fun.
Favorite Classes or Lecture at Cornell: Finance with Professor Wellman. He relates everything we learn in class to current events in the real world; Psych 101 with Professor Maas. He’s a great lecturer and everything he teaches is so interesting.
Favorite Cornell Memory: Cornell vs. Harvard hockey game. I had season tickets last year just so I could go to the Harvard game. Every hockey game at Lynah Rink is awesome but there’s just something about the Harvard game that just makes it so much exhilarating.
Favorite Cornell Tradition or Legend: Singing the alma mater at hockey games. You put your arms around the adjacent person’s shoulders and the entire rink sways back and forth while singing ”Far Above Cayuga’s Waters”.
Advice to New Students: Learn the bus schedule and use your free bus pass while you still can (it’s only free during your first year) to go to class when it gets freezing.