Welcome to Cornell, Class of 2025!
We are so excited to have you join the Big Red Family!
Take a deep breath. We are all living in such an uncertain world right now, but we are committed to welcoming you to our family. This is where you are supposed to be, I know you don’t know it just yet, but the next four years will shape the person you are and will prepare you to enter the world as an informed, compassionate, and empathetic leader in your own field. This campus will challenge you to find your passion and your people as you face new courses with dedication and become a part of a new community on campus and in the Ithaca and global community. These four years will not be easy, but no one ever told you they would. You are prepared to take this leap, and we are here to help you every step of the way.
We are POST leaders. POST, Pre-Orientation Service Trips, is a 4 day pre-orientation program that begins the Monday prior to Move-in. Led by a group of upperclassmen student leaders who previously participated in the program, POST is an incredible opportunity to meet new incoming students and find upperclassmen mentors before starting formal orientation and coursework. Through local community service projects, POST allows incoming students to contribute to their new Ithaca community before even stepping on campus. POST is an opportunity to meet new friends, engage with local service projects, and gain valuable mentors.
Each day, teams of incoming students, led by upperclassmen, head out to a local nonprofit, community-based organization to work on a service project. Every day brings a different project at a new site - providing the opportunity to learn about unique programs across Tompkins County and at Cornell. Many students, like us, have remained committed to these programs throughout their four years here. Some of our favorite sites are the Physics Bus, The Ithaca School District, NYS Parks, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and Family Reading Partnership. Participants prepare schools for the upcoming fall, contribute to gardening projects, work with young children among other tasks. Each evening, students participate in activities that range from a dinner on campus to a barbeque at Stewart Park.
One of the most rewarding elements of POST is the opportunity to find a family before even getting to campus. Our leaders tell stories of living with the friends they met on day one of POST four years prior. Other leaders talk about continued meet-ups with their POST team, and mentorship from their own POST leaders.
The bond you create with the people you will meet during POST will surprise you, it is the vulnerability and openness of the program that will allow you to form a new family with us. You have taken a step outside of your comfort zone. It is likely a frightening and overwhelming feeling, recognizing this big leap in front of you. We encourage you to plant yourself in this discomfort. POST has allowed us to find our place at Cornell - to become a part of the Tompkins County and Cornell community before starting our journey here. It has guided and shaped our entire experience. We encourage you to join us at POST. Something our own leaders shared with us when we first stepped on campus was this: “As you set out for Ithaca, hope the voyage is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery.... Keep Ithaca always in your mind. Arriving there is what you are destined for. But do not hurry the journey at all.” - Cavafy
We are excited to have you in Ithaca. Congratulations, class of 2025, this is just the beginning!
Sincerely,
The POST Leaders
Learn more about POST.