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VOL. 1 NO. 4, SUMMER 2009

CAMPAIGN UPDATE

No boundaries for global scholarship

Ga-Young So '07 describes herself as a "hungry master's student at Yale." When she made a $50 gift to the Cornell Annual Fund, she told us it was her promise to the future.

"In the future, I hope I can give back something more to the ILR School," she says. "I had a life-changing experience while working at the International Labor Organization in Geneva, Switzerland," she explains. "Interacting with people from all over the world, I have realized that we human beings are more similar than different. My experience gave me a more open mind as a global citizen."

Hearing stories like So's reminds us that, especially in our 21st-century world, it's more important than ever for students to make global connections.

As trustee Michael Zak '75 puts it, to become global citizens, students need to travel outside of their home country to walk the ground, kick the turf and live life elsewhere. That's why in 2005 Zak helped to launch a new major for students pursuing careers in China-America relations. Cornell's China and Asia-Pacific Studies program graduated its first class last year.

Zak is one of a number of Cornellians who is vaulting students into exceptional, life-changing opportunities.

By bringing far-flung students to campus, or helping to send students beyond American borders for study and research, Cornell strengthens its justifiable reputation as a world crossroads. The intersection of students and faculty with global experience and perspectives is further enriched by visits from our alumni, many of whom are among today's leading innovators and activists who seek to bring about positive global change.

Far Above … The Campaign for Cornell supports opportunities for students to become global citizens. Such opportunities include:

Undergraduate scholarships: The key to fulfilling Cornell's need-blind access for students, scholarships also ensure that all students can choose to study abroad if they wish. At Cornell, financial awards include international study.
International scholarships: For Cornell to reflect a diverse and global community, the university must be able to make resources available so that any qualified student from anywhere in the world can attend Cornell.
Program and research support: Study abroad is only one pathway to global experience for Cornell students. Many students also participate in international research and service projects. Travel, fieldwork and daily living expenses are costs in addition to tuition.
Cornell Annual Fund: Each year annual fund gifts support student aid, programs, research, travel and fieldwork for students and faculty members universitywide.