Carli Flynn wasn’t sure what she wanted to study when she started looking at colleges. “I liked math and science,” she says, “but the only engineering that seemed to apply me was biological, so I knew I wanted a school with good agriculture and life sciences programs.” 

She also wanted to be within driving distance of home, so she decided to check out Cornell. While in town, she also visited the Ithaca Farmers Market and ate at the famed Moosewood restaurant. “When I came to visit Cornell I fell in love with it right away,” she says. “I knew immediately that it was the place for me.”

Carli says the College of Engineering, in particular, offers many opportunities to learn and grow, such as the study abroad program with the University of Cantabria in Santander, Spain. She is taking Spanish classes in preparation for the trip next year. “I’ve already learned more in four months than I did in four years of high school,” she says. “I really like it.”

Depending on how the trip goes, she may put her language skills to work senior year with AguaClara or Engineers for a Sustainable World, two of the many engineering student groups at Cornell. Currently, she’s a peer mentor in the office of Diversity Programs in Engineering, a member of the Society of Women Engineers, and vice-president of Animal Advocates for Agricultural Reform, whose mission is to educate about animal rights and to mitigate animal suffering.

Being a vegan at Cornell is very easy, says Carli. “I live in Carl Baker House and the chef is always open to new ideas,” she says. “Once I asked for chocolate soy milk and he got it for me the next week.” 

She still has not decided on a specific career, but Carli has begun to narrow her choices. “I’m environmentally focused—things like bioremediation,” she says. “I’m exploring all the different topics now.”

In her environmental engineering classes, the ratio of men to women is about 50/50 says Carli, but in some of her other engineering classes she is definitely in the minority, though it hasn’t been a problem for her. “All engineers just have the same logical thinking patterns, so we just relate to each other on that level,” she says. “It’s not like a girl-guy situation.”

Not until she stayed for a summer session did Carli realize how much there was to do in Ithaca outside of Cornell. Some of her favorite places are the Commons, Buttermilk Falls, and Ithaca’s many restaurants. “Freshmen in particular should set aside some time on the weekends to explore Ithaca,” she says. “Sometimes people from big cities write it off as a small town, but it will definitely surprise you.”