CAMPUS LIFE
Second act: Cook House alumnae return as graduate resident fellows
Chizoba Ekemam '07 was one of the first students to live in Alice Cook House. Now she spends her days helping a new generation of residents benefit from all the West Campus House System has to offer. Ekemam is one of three house alumnae who are the first to return as graduate resident fellows.
She is joined by Margaret (Lesch) Adams '08 and Ioana Vartolomei '06, who say their new roles as academic mentors to undergraduate residents give them a fresh perspective on Cornell's approach to residential life.
From left, Chizoba Ekemam '07, Ioana Vartolomei '06 and Margaret (Lesch) Adams '08, pictured in Alice Cook House, each say their positive experiences as residents of Cook House greatly influenced their decisions to apply for graduate resident fellowships at the West Campus house. Ross Brann, Cook House Professor-Dean, says their return marks the maturation of the West Campus House System.
The alums' return signifies the maturation of the West Campus system, according to Ross Brann, Cook House dean.
"They offer academic support to our residents in their areas of expertise as well as résumé workshops and the like," Brann says. "As they are closer in age and experience to the undergraduates, they also have the opportunity to develop unique relationships with the residents, and they look out for their well-being."
Vartolomei, a doctoral student in French literature, lived in the Language House within Cook House as an undergraduate. In her senior year she became a member of the Cook House forum, a group that meets weekly to plan programs and activities with residents' input. She says the intellectual energy there impressed her. She started attending activities planned by other residents and soon was planning her own events, including a faculty panel on the riots in France in October 2005.
Ross Brann, house dean for Cook House, right, and Laura Autumn Floyd '09 during Faculty Night at Alice Cook House in March 2008. See larger image
"More than 100 people showed up who came from all over campus," says Vartolomei. "l had never done anything like that before, and it was very encouraging. Now, I'm on the other end, and I'm trying to help students organize those types of activities."
Ekemam, a second-year law student, has organized information sessions for residents interested in careers in law or public service.
"I think the best part of being a graduate resident fellow is being around all the students, being able to share with them my experiences here as an undergrad and also my experiences in law school, particularly for those students who are interested in going into law or into a career in government," she says.
For Adams, who studies education, the best part is helping residents cope with the rigors of attending an academically demanding institution. "I want to be a teacher, and when you're in the classroom you can't control what's going on with the students at home -- you just have to do the best you can with them at school," Adams says. "But being a graduate resident fellow, it's the other way around. I've got 59 residents, and Alice Cook House as a whole has more than 300 students. We actually have some power to influence their home lives, to make their experiences very positive and to support them academically and socially."
About Alice Cook House
Alice Cook House
The oldest of the five West Campus residences, Alice H. Cook House first welcomed students in 2004. The house is named for the late Alice H. Cook (1903-1998), a professor at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations and one of the first scholars to address working women's issues, such as equal pay, comparable worth and maternity leave.
For more information on the Residential Initiative at Cornell, see http://www.campaign.cornell.edu/residential.