Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Cornell Daily Sun
Submit a Tip
Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025

Grad

POGGI | The Places We’ve Been

Reading time: about 10 minutes

I write this sitting in my Collegetown house, procrastinating on studying for my 7 p.m. physics final. This week has been full of emotions — the bittersweet celebration of Mother's Day far from home, the stress of my final exams of college, the warmth of the first days of Ithaca summer. But above all, I've been grateful for the joy these last four years have brought, a joy I hope every graduate feels.

I chose Cornell because I was interested in an agriculture major, and there's no better place to be. Coming from DC, I knew I was not cut out for the land grants of the Midwest, and loved the proximity to that familiar East Coast way of life. I applied early decision, got in in December, and skirted the responsibility of weighing my options for college. Fast forward four years, and I am among friends choosing between jobs and graduate schools, new cities to establish adult life in, commitment to friends and significant others who might be there for the long game. For the first time in my life, the overwhelming responsibility of deciding my life — a privilege I am so grateful to have — has hit.

But before I focus on the places we'll go, I want to chat about the places we've been. Class of 2025, we've been quarantined at Cayuga Blue during COVID-19, and yelled at by RAs for subpar mask etiquette. We've made the trek from North Campus to Collegetown in search of a "fraternity party," mindlessly wandering the streets during O-week. We’ve watched as AI and online learning have disrupted traditional educational models, as legislation and protests have reminded us of our context outside of campus. We've bathed in the sun at Flat Rock, failed exams and joined the groups that made us who we are, from ultra-selective clubs to informal cohorts of shared interests — friends, I believe they're called.

Though perhaps uninteresting to the average Sun reader, I'll use my senior column to honor some of the places I've been and the people I've met along the way.

I first met Sophia Ruser my freshman year, when fate and Facebook brought us together as roommates. Both daughters of physician parents and lovers of cats, we became a quick duo. Flash forward four years of living together, and I consider her my best friend. She has challenged my worldviews and expanded my intellect, has been a moral compass in times of dilemma and has introduced me to others who have fundamentally shaped the trajectory of my life. As we laugh and study, chat and dance, I know I would not be who I am without her. 

Sophia introduced me to Kira Baltaytis, who introduced me to Julia Roos. The two of them introduced me to Conor Burke among many others living in or adjacent to Donlon hall. As freshman friend groups morphed and fluxed, the “Donlon pledge class” became closer, then more distant, then closer again, as these things often work. Today though, I have shared many dinners, beach trips, nights on dorm room floors, a bomb threat, concerts, date nights and events with these people. Each has exposed me to a new corner of Cornell. 

The next year, I lived in the old Phi Gamma Delta dorm on campus, where I met Dylan Winchell and Sean LaMacchia. Coming from an all-girls school, these were some of my first male friends. Sophia, Sean, Dylan would go to the library and make TikToks, or joke around in "soft lounge," one of the libraries of our house. One day, after coming home from going out with Julia, we found an unlocked door in the old fraternity house that led to a kitchen, chapter room, party space and spray painted our names on the graffitied brick. These are my college friends.

Meanwhile, I was becoming closer to my friends Tobie Bertisch and Grace Honeyman in class. Endless hours of lecture, lab, discussion, recitation, co-op, peer-led, office hours and their accompanying study sessions makes for quick friends. Tobie listened to me as I ranted about the growing pains of sophomore year, offering words of encouragement and never-ending support. Grace helped me understand organic chemistry and appreciate all Ithaca has to offer. Countless waterfall visits, ice cream runs, thrift store sprees and even a trip to Syracuse punctuated my sophomore year with laughter and adventure.

My junior year, I lived with Julia and Sophia, with whom I occupied a small apartment at 305 Eddy St. With a fluorescent, color-changing overhead lamp and one bathroom for three girls, our apartment became a cozy home. We would eat dinner together most nights, usually some unlikely combination sourced from Trader Joe's and incinerated in our air fryer. We decided on one of the more ambitious adventures of my college experience, to foster a cat. Mr. Peebles was (is) a tailless shorthaired cat found in a vegan man's compost pile outside of Ithaca. He slinked around like a reptile the first few days, to the point where I took him to the vet out of concern. He was fine, they said, just incredibly weird. Julia came to love Mr. Peebles, and days spent with him, evenings hosting dinner parties and nights out made our friendship invincible.

So invincible, Julia and I put it through the challenges of living abroad in Florence, where we shared a bedroom, and living together in New York City, where square foot by square foot, it was worse. Throughout countries, continents, and cities, Julia and I became great friends. She has shown me new people and things, culminating in my participation in the Cornell Fashion Collective runway show, of which she is president. Her creativity, spark, and energy for life has rubbed off on me, and, like many of the names mentioned, I know she will be a lifelong friend.

Coming back to Ithaca after a semester in Italy and a summer taste of the real world of NYC was a homecoming. In this senior year, I became infinitely closer to Grace Nahmiyas, with whom I spent many a night watching Lost on our couch. She gave me advice when I was considering huge life choices and helped me stay on track with a heavier than usual senior course load. My friendships with Tobie, Grace, Dylan and Sean grew tighter, and I was introduced to Jen Grous, a Cornell Concert Commissioner, incredible scientist and dear friend of mine. She, like everyone in my house, showed me a new side of the robust Cornell student body.

This year, I have watched Kira travel the world as an early graduate, seen Conor win national competitions and witnessed Grace Honeyman present impactful research. I have traveled with Grace Nahmiyas, and Tobie and Sophia, sharing warm nights in Costa Rica and early morning surfing. We've scream-sung pop hits and danced wildly together. We've shared countless meals, popped many a tire and defied a few social norms here and there.

I could go on and on and on. My physics exam is in 10 hours, and even if I did no more studying and instead continued to write, I would not be close to chronicling the ways in which my friends have made me the person I am. The places we've been are important, but the people we've been are more. Each person I have named, and so many more whom I have not, have changed me. As I take a look down memory lane, I see infinite versions of myself, constantly modified by the data points of new friendships and experiences.

Next year, many of us will scatter. I know we will text and call and meet up when we can, but the reality is we will never all live within a two-mile radius of each other. I am scared for that next chapter, where the people who have made me who I am will no longer be around. But they are with us always, because they are us. I will channel the inclusivity of Sophia and the creativity of Julia, the laughter of Grace N., the adventurousness of Kira, the support of Tobie and the ambition of Grace H. When we meet up for coffee, I will remember the joviality of Conor, the humor of Dylan and the authenticity of Sean. To any readers who may have asked themselves “Why did I just read a stranger’s tribute to her friends?”, I hope you have recognized some of these names, or their stories have reminded you of individuals in your life.

The places we’ll go will ask for resumes, for lists of achievements, positions and references. But never forget that, oftentimes, the places we’ve been are less important than the people we’ve met. As much as college is about textbook learning, it’s also about surrounding yourself with people who teach you to be a better version of yourself. The benefit of college cannot be achieved through prelims and essays alone; it comes from the education of our friends, the examples they set and the lessons we share.

The Cornell Daily Sun is interested in publishing a broad and diverse set of content from the Cornell and greater Ithaca community. We want to hear what you have to say about this topic or any of our pieces. Here are some guidelines on how to submit. And here’s our email: associate-editor@cornellsun.com.


Julia Poggi

Julia Poggi is a senior in the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences. Her fortnightly column The Outbox is a collection of reflections, advice and notes to self about life at Cornell, with a focus on coursework-life balance. She can be reached at jpoggi@cornellsun.com.


Read More