Hudson Tumey

Meet Hudson Tumey

Hometown: Haw River, NC
College: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Major: Biological Engineering
Year: 2025

"My favorite college experience was when the Cornell Tradition funded me to go serve in Kentucky over spring break. I got the opportunity to travel with friends and help build houses with Samaritan’s Purse to help people who have been left homeless after a tornado. Serving with my friends is one of my favorite things to do, and Cornell Tradition made that possible.”

Cornell Tradition Fellow, Hudson Tumey ’25, CALS, Biological Engineering, credits his “awesome family” for playing an integral part in his passion to engage in work and service. Hudson is one of eleven siblings, seven of whom are adopted: five from Ethiopia; two from China; and three of the seven have special needs. He added that his parents have been influential in teaching him and his siblings to help others. “I want to have that same mindset as my parents. Through my education in Agricultural Engineering, I know I can use that in a very helpful way to connect with people (farmers) who have a need by doing more than just throwing money at a situation and acting like I know how to do it, because I probably don't. The idea is to work with those who need help and share my perspective to work on a solution together.”

Hudson grew up in North Carolina, and his decision to come to Cornell was based on receiving the Cornell Tradition fellowship. As a student, Hudson feels that attending Cornell has been the best option academically as it is an environment that supports his aspirations to become an Agricultural Engineer. As a member of the Cornell Tradition, Hudson felt that receiving the fellowship was like having an open door to many opportunities that he could benefit from. For instance, during spring break, Hudson utilized Cornell Tradition funding to volunteer with Samaritan’s Purse, an organization with a mission to help meet the needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine. With a group of friends, Hudson spent the week in Kentucky helping a community that was left homeless due to the damages of a tornado.

Just like other Tradition Fellows, Hudson is involved with many work and service organizations to meet his annual program requirements, like volunteering with the service team for CRU (the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ in United States). In this role, Hudson is helping Second Wind Cottages build a home in Dryden, NY for formerly incarcerated and/or homeless women. Hudson is a member of the club soccer team and has worked part-time as a private tutor helping students with their Engineering courses. When he’s at home with his family, he helps take care of his siblings that have special needs.

When it comes to exploring and committing to work and service opportunities, Hudson believes in quality over quantity. He shared that college is the time to try new projects and activities, but his advice is to be cautious about taking on too much. “As students, we try to do everything and it's just not how it works. We’re still human, right? And to really focus and to do the job well, I look at the little things that I can really make a big impact through instead of trying to do everything. When you really focus and narrow in on things that you see that you can put more time into, you can have a lot more impact.” 

With financial assistance from the Cornell Tradition, Hudson will be spending this summer in the Philippines building houses and conducting agricultural engineering work with a professor from Kansas State. “I think it’s extremely important to serve others who are in need. I feel like I've been given so much at Cornell, I’d be kind of a fool to do nothing with the opportunities I have been given. And what I really love about the Cornell Tradition is that it shares my ideals and is willing to support me in completing what I want to do, which is to help others.”