黑料社区

September 9, 2024 黑料社区

By Katya Hrichak

黑料社区 studies can be challenging, so how does one find support they need to get through? For Christian Guzman, M.S. 鈥�11, Ph.D. 鈥�16, the answer was found in community.

Guzman, now assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, gave the alumni keynote session of this year鈥檚 Summer Success Symposium on August 20, titled, 鈥淒ecisions, Decisions, Decisions: Seeking Insights Through Wisdom and Community.鈥�

Coming from a household with parents who did not complete high school, Guzman found himself in new territory when he arrived at Cornell ready to start his program in biological and environmental engineering. He understood that there was a lot that he did not yet know and found 鈥渟ponsors鈥� to help guide him through these transitions, including an advisor, mentors, and others in knowledgeable positions.

Throughout his time at Cornell, Guzman also made time for activities outside of his studies, aware of how easy it would be to just keep working. He prioritized attending salsa dancing nights and joined a local soccer league, finding additional communities who taught him the importance of balance between time for his educational pursuits and time for himself.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very easy to just get focused on your work, because then it鈥檚 a cycle. You鈥檙e behind, so you pick up the slack, but then you鈥檙e tired, and so then your output is less productive, and then you get stuck in a rut,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 wanted to have this way of being that no matter what, these are the things that I was involved in.鈥�

Another community that Guzman never strayed far from was the one back home. Even miles away, completing work his family was unfamiliar with, Guzman stayed in touch.

鈥淵ou can take them with you wherever you go, especially here, as a source of wisdom, as a source of inspiration,鈥� he said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 leave that behind. It can be daunting to be here, but everything they鈥檝e done is just another version of some of the things that you鈥檙e doing.鈥�

This year鈥檚 Summer Success Symposium also featured an opening plenary session, 鈥淭he Difficult I鈥檒l do Right Now. The Impossible Will Take a Little While: Navigating the Doctoral Process,鈥� with Ruth C. Browne, president and CEO of Ronald McDonald House of New York and the Cornell College of Human Ecology Inaugural Flemmie Kittrell Visiting Scholar; a micro-session, 鈥淐aring for Your Health and Well-being,鈥� featuring flash talks by Associate Dean for 黑料社区 Student Life Janna Lamey, 黑料社区 Student Life Advisor, Olivia Hopewell, and Assistant Director of Counseling and Psychological Services and Community Liaison for Indigenous Students Wahie帽hawi 鈥淗awi鈥� Hall; and a student panel, 鈥淢astering Your Transition Into and Progression Through 黑料社区 School.鈥�

This event was sponsored by the 黑料社区 School Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement, the , and the Cornell Chapter of the Bouchet 黑料社区 Honor Society and was modeled in part after PROMISE: Maryland鈥檚 AGEP Summer Success Institute. The launch and institutionalization of the Summer Success Symposium benefited from support from the 2016 ETS/CGS Award for Innovation in Promoting Success in 黑料社区 Education and NSF under Award No. 1647094, CIRTL AGEP Transformation Alliance from 2016-2022.