Cornell’s Kessler Presidential Scholars Program Prepares Students for Summer Projects and Employment

With the support of the program, Cornell’s Kessler Presidential Scholars are engaged in interesting projects this summer. Linsey Chen ’24 is a Biology Major concentrating in ecology and evolutionary biology. This summer, she is working on campus as a Research Assistant to a PhD student focused on ornithology. She is also a part of the Kessler Presidential Scholars Program. When it came to looking for a job this summer, she knew wanted to do research, but “didn’t know what it meant or what it looked like for undergrads, so it took a lot of reaching out to people -- professors, PIs.” She credits a networking workshop available to Kessler Presidential Scholars with teaching her the skills and giving her the confidence to do that outreach. Her conversations ultimately landed her in an initial ornithology class last fall, a second class this past spring, and led her to pursue her current job.

Four years ago, Cornell University was the second institution of higher education to welcome the Kessler Presidential Scholar program onto its campus. It is now one of 16 schools nationwide offering first-generation college students a landing pad and support systems on campus. The burgeoning program gives students who are the first in their families to go to college a place to connect with one another and the resources to be successful. This includes setting them up for success while away from campus.

Jason Xiong ’25 is spending his summer as a member of TeamWork. “I will be working in a project team with students from other universities around the world to assist an assigned organization with its goals. For my team specifically, we will be aiding a digital health startup in its mission to support children and young people with disabilities.”

Being a Kessler Presidential Scholar, he says, “has genuinely eased my transition to Cornell as a first-generation college student… I was able to learn a great deal from the workshops hosted and the professional development opportunities shared. In addition, the program has also provided me tremendous support and mentorship from both our advisors and fellow Kessler scholars.”

According to Destiny Smith ‘24, "as a Kessler Presidential Scholar, you have access to resources that are specifically tailored to your needs as a first-generation college student. We have events where we get to meet other first-gen students… and workshops throughout the year that facilitate academic, personal, and professional development. The Kessler Presidential Scholars Program has played an integral role in my sense of belonging at Cornell.”

This summer, Destiny is working in Professor Ann Hajek's lab in the Department of Entomology focusing on identifying ways to reduce pest-caused crop destruction. “It involves a lot of field work and lab work and I'm learning something new every day! I found the collaboration between Kessler and Career Services particularly helpful with resume building. The Kessler staff and my peers also make it very easy to stay informed about resources on campus for whatever you might want help with.”

“Coming in as a first-gen student, I didn’t know anything about job applications, interviews, or how to look for jobs,” Linsey adds. “The Kessler Scholars Program has workshops to help us find and utilize resources, build resumes and CVs. We had a career prep workshop this past year that taught me how to present myself in interviews and how to think about the process in general. This advice changed my view. I used to dread interviews and job searches. The instructor was full of energy and confidence – it showed how much energy I should bring to an interview and how I should prepare.”

The Kessler workshops help students feel more comfortable with the job application process. For example, the strengths-based workshop and assessment provides the benefit of helping students identify their attributes. This knowledge can lend students the confidence that is so vital in the job application process. It provides students with specific qualities they can talk about in interviews, and populate on their resume.

For the job Linsey has this summer, she says, “compared to interviews prior, I spoke more about myself and my qualities, and I was able to be more specific when talking about with my work ethic and my interests.  I felt more confident in that interview. I had more to say.”

Cornell welcomes its fourth cohort of Kessler Presidential Scholars to campus this fall.