Abigail Boatmun

Meet Abigail Boatmun

Hometown: Durant, Oklahoma
College: Human Ecology
Major: Human Development
Year: 2023

If you were able to access $3500 to be able to participate in a summer internship, what would you do? Meinig Scholar Abigail Boatmun (HE, Human Development) used her Meinig Leadership Support Account to work for the non-profit, Rock Trust in Edinburgh, Scotland. Rock Trust is an organization that serves homeless (or at risk of being homeless) youth, providing them with access to food, laundry, showers, and toiletries. In addition, Rock Trust offers resources like mental health services, life skills, and housing and job support. Abigail’s job responsibilities were to rotate between their housing support program and their early intervention program. She had a caseload of eight individuals, sharing that she was able to form close relationships with all of them, assisting them with care plans and other goals. Throughout the summer, she helped her clients develop life skills like learning how to cook, setting up a bank account, budgeting for groceries and utilities, and preparing resumes. Abigail reflected that she appreciated having a wide variety of things to work on, and that overall, it was a fun experience.

Abigail is from Durant, Oklahoma. Her decision to come to Cornell was primarily due to the uniqueness of the Human Development major and it was the fit that she was looking for. Her campus visit finalized her decision as she shared that the people she encountered were friendly and welcoming, which attracted her to the college even more. Abigail has made the most of her college experience by trying as many things as the campus has to offer that doesn’t involve being a part of an organization. She recommends attending an event or a game for every sport at least once. “Go see an acapella concert or a comedy show because it's really one of the only times in life that all of these activities will be in one place.”

Abigail exemplifies what it means to be a Meinig Scholar. In addition to being in a sorority, she is involved in the Native American and Indigenous Students at Cornell organization. She participates with CU Biggs and through that, Big Brothers Big Sisters. She also has two jobs on campus, working for the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program and Upward Bound. One of the program benefits that Abigail appreciates is the weekly email announcements that advertise community events and service opportunities. “I think the connections to different service opportunities and community involvement have been nice. The email communications make it so much easier to meet people and get involved to do things that I'm interested in without having to go too far to look for them. It feels like they're just sort of given to me, which is really convenient.”

As a senior, Abigail’s recommendation to underclassmen is to try not to be too consumed with school or job/internship searching. “Go out and try as much as you can and make the most of being with the people that you are with and what’s available.”