Class Scholar Wendi Gonzalez ’21–Her Cornell Journey
Even as it seems that the world has stood still, our Class Scholar Wendi Gonzalez is in her final year in the College of Art, Architecture & Planning. We first met Wendi in September of 2016 as a newly minted Cornell Freshman from High Point, North Carolina.
Through her photos and letters to us we’ve gotten to watch her Cornell journey. After her first semester she wrote to us about her new friends, new foods she’d eaten, terrifying Slope sledding and sleeping through two early classes–the quintessential Freshman experience. After her third semester she shared that her hardest professor probably got the best work out of her. She joined NOMAS (National Organization of Minority Architecture Students) and helped them fund raise to get Cornell students to a competition in Chicago, where last year they won second place. Read about that here. Spring ’19 with the Cornell in Rome program brought places to life that Wendi had only ever read about and she was able to share that with us in person at our 45th Reunion.%202.jpg "unnamed (9) 2")
Despite COVID, she spent this past summer in Reno, Nevada interning at one of Tesla’s operation centers. Her work included helping to design manufacturing facilities for Tesla.
Wendi recently caught up with classmates Kristen Rupert and John Foote. They shared her thoughtful message to our class and her photos. You can read her message here.
Ever gracious, Wendi has let us see her life and work at Cornell and always conveys gratitude to our class. As our Class of ’74 Scholar she makes us incredibly proud. This scholarship, started over 30 years ago by our classmates Bob and Joan Saltsman Oelschlager, is supported by members of our class. If you’d like to help support it, click here and designate “Class of 1974 Scholarship.”
Enjoy Wendi’s story and successes!
