Class Scholar Wendi Gonzalez ’21–Her Cornell Journey

Read Wendi’s letter to our class here:
Because of coronavirus concerns, Cornell President Martha Pollack just announced Cornell will move to all-virtual instruction, prohibit gatherings of more than 100 people, discourage travel, and require students to complete all coursework at their permanent home residences after spring break. Learn more about this just-breaking news here.
Recently I attended the annual Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference (CALC) in Las Vegas. The weekend was filled with wonderful tributes to our beloved 9th president Frank H. T. Rhodes. Read more about the man, his work and his legacy here. The campus memorial service is April 25th.
Maybe spring is approaching (always a hard call in Ithaca) but Libe Slope is snow-free at least for now. This week the campus is celebrating with the Moog Festival in honor of Robert Moog ’65, an electronic music pioneer whose archives have just been opened at the Cornell Library. And the Black Excellence in Fashion show is on display in Martha van Renssalaer Hall and is a must-see for fashionistas. Both events are displays and one can visit them in person or online through our links. Sadly, online may be a “thing” for a while.
Giving Day is tomorrow and I would like to introduce you to classmate David Miller and his wife Anne Wenzel, recent winners of our Fred Bosch Award for their outstanding work on participation for our 45th Reunion, and share their Giving Day Message.
We are delighted to be involved with the Class of 1974, expanding outreach and inviting classmates to stay connected or re-connect. Anne is not a Cornellian herself but has enjoyed reunions with David since we started dating 30+ years ago. And we are proud to have watched both our children grow, flourish and graduate from Cornell (Emily Miller, Human Ecology ‘16 and Jeremy Miller, Engineering ‘19).
Cornell Giving Day—the annual one-day university-wide on-line fundraising extravaganza—is TOMORROW, March 12!
With the acceleration of all things internet, on-line giving invitations are ubiquitous and easy to ignore. But they are also just as easy to respond to with a quick donation.
Cornell Giving Day is really a highly democratic form of philanthropy, easy for all to engage and join. You can specify a Cornell program, department, team or club that is near and dear to your heart. Our family gives to the Class of ’74 Scholarship and the Big Red Marching Band, which created a valuable community of musicians for our children when they were at Cornell.
We encourage you to take just a minute on March 12th and make a donation on Cornell Giving Day. All donations of any size and for any purpose are appreciated! General support gifts and donations designated for our Class of ’74 Scholarship and/or our Christopher Reeve Scholar are also very welcome. (Please note these links will not go live until Giving Day). Thanks!
Anne Wenzel and David Miller
Vice Presidents, Annual Fund Participation
Please join Anne, David and me in participating in Giving Day!
Thank you and best wishes!
Shelley Cosgrove DeFord
President [Notable] Class of ‘74
Class of 1974 Scholarships
The Class of 1974 Scholarship was established in 1999 as part of our 25th Reunion campaign by classmates Joan and Bob Oel- schlager. Students selected by Cornell receive this scholarship, each year during their course of study.
Class of ’74 Scholars are:
• Musfeq Khan ’03, Arts & Sciences, Bangladesh
• Katherine Arcos ’04, Arts & Sciences, Long Beach, NY
• Anthony (Tony) Bandanza ’08, Arts & Sciences, New Hampshire
• Sabina Sattler ’12, CALS, Connecticut
• Garrett Guillen ’16, ILR, California
• Wendolin Gonzalez ’21, Architecture, North Carolina
Our current Class of ’74 Scholar, Wendolin Gonzalez, is a rising third-year architecture student, who has just returned from the Cornell in Rome program. She grew up in High Point, North Carolina, and will be working with a Boston architecture firm this summer. Wendi sent us a letter about her experiences in the Cornell in Rome program.
“My experience in Rome has been incredible. I still have yet to get over the shock of living ten minutes from the Pantheon. Everywhere I go there’s a monument that I had seen hundreds of times in books growing up. I used to flip through magazines and sketch from pictures, but now I can actually go see these in person.
It feels as though I just arrived yesterday and in the blink of an eye the semester is coming to an end. The field trips around Italy and to Berlin have been great and I’ve been able to see not just Rome but much of Italy. Thankfully, classes aren’t as rigorous so I can spend afternoons soaking up the culture.”
Christopher Reeve Scholarship
This scholarship is given to a student in the Theatre Arts program, in memory of Christopher Reeve ‘74. Both the Class of 1974 Scholarship, along with the Christopher Reeve Scholarship, continue to be funded by many classmates as part of annual giving commitments. Recipients receive support each year. Past scholarship winners have been:
• Christine Bullen ’08, Arts & Sciences, Colorado
• Katherine Karaus ’10, Arts & Sciences, Virginia
• Bridget Saracino ’11, Arts & Sciences, Rochester NY
• Nate Mattingly ’14, Arts & Sciences, Cortland, NY
The current Chris Reeve ’74 scholar is William Opoku Nnuro Jr, a freshman planning a double major in theatre and biology. He writes:
“From a young age, my parents & grandparents instilled the love of reading and knowledge in my brothers and I and they pushed us to be the top of our class at all times. I owe it to them that I was accepted into such a prestigious university and I hope to pay it forward for my kids one day.
My experiences living in Texas and then moving to a completely different environment in Ghana have also shaped me into the person I am today. The struggles I have witnessed motivate me to effect positive change wherever I go, through my actions and through my creative endeavors. Lastly I would just like to say a huge thank you to the class of ’74 for the Christopher Reeve scholarship which helped make it possible for me to attend Cornell University! I am excited to be given the opportunity to meet you all and hear your stories!”
My experience in Rome has been incredible. I still have yet to get over the shock of living ten minutes from the Pantheon. Everywhere I go there’s a monument that I had seen hundreds of times in books growing up. I used to flip through magazines and sketch from pictures, but now I can actually go see these in person.
It feels as though I just arrived yesterday and in the blink of an eye the semester is coming to an end. The field trips around Italy and to Berlin have been great and I’ve been able to see not just Rome but much of Italy. Thankfully, classes aren’t as rigorous so I can spend afternoons soaking up the culture. If you ever have a chance, I would highly recommend spending a few days in this amazing city.
Here are some fun facts about the Class of 1974 and our very successful Giving Day:
Hope to see you in Ithaca at our 45th Reunion in June.
Class of 1974 Class Scholarship winner sends this beautiful letter of gratitude. Read it here and learn more about Garret Guillen and our Class Scholarship.
President Garrett and Provost Michael Kotlikoff announced in December a proposal to create a new College of Business at Cornell. This College would include the current Johnson Graduate School of Management, the undergraduate business program (called “Ag Ec” in our day, now called “Applied Economics and Management (AEM)”) which is now in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the School of Hotel Administration. To learn more about this proposal, which would require a change in the university by-laws, you may want to read both the official university announcement here and the Cornell Daily Sun articles and comments here.
Christine hails from Colorado Springs, Colorado where she made her performing debut at age five playing a rat that gets blown up by a cannon in The Nutcracker. Seventeen years later, Christine received a BA in Theatre Arts from Cornell.
Since graduation, Christine has split her time between California and New York. On the west coast, she’s trained in improv comedy with The Groundlings and performed in San Francisco with sketch group Killing My Lobster, named the Bay Area’s best comedy group. In the Big Apple, she’s worked on indie films, shorts and webseries.
Christine returned to Cornell for the Class of 1974 40th Reunion. She gave a great, and very funny, recap of her time at Cornell during the Friday Trivia Night at the Class Headquarters.