Jason Koski/University Photography

Jenna Galbut ’14, creator of the new “Humans of Cornell University” Facebook page, hopes the page, which already has more than 3,000 "likes," will promote a greater sense of community.

On the new “Humans of Cornell University” Facebook page, Omoye Usen ’15 answers a simple question posed by Jenna Galbut ’14, the page’s creator.

“What are you waiting for?”

The bus.

“In life, what are you waiting for?”

“I’m waiting for people to get along and realize that whatever we’re competing for here at Cornell is not that serious.”

Her answer is typical of the responses Galbut receives as she interviews and photographs students, faculty, staff and community members around campus. Her daily posts offer a glimpse into the backstories of people whom we pass every day on campus. The page, which started Jan. 22, already has more than 3,000 “likes.” It’s patterned after the popular “Humans of New York” Facebook page.

“We are surrounded by so many amazing people who are really into the things they do,” said Galbut, a philosophy major in the College of Arts and Sciences who minors in film and cognitive science. “I wanted to give myself and other people the opportunity to connect to a stranger even for just a moment in ‘real’ life and then immortalize the captured moment on the Web.”

These connections make for compelling stories.

There’s Kimberly Arivianty Tan ’14 from Indonesia, who says people at Cornell have become a second family for her.

And there’s George Scofield from the Campus Store, whose best advice for students is to stay in school.

And Daniel Kennedy ’17, who says his grandparents taught him to value family, education, honesty, trust and friendship.

Galbut said the site has been a life-changing experience for her.

“Now, every day I get out bed and grab my camera because I’m so excited for who I might meet today,” Galbut said. “I decided that I want to be present, I want to seize every opportunity, I want to make my last semester here worth it and memorable, and hopefully leave a part of me behind.”

She stops people between classes or during their breaks, introduces herself and tells them about her project. Sometimes she’ll ask a general question, but other times she uses one of the probing questions she writes down in her spare time, often late at night.

“I’m a philosophy major, so I think about things all the time,” she said with a laugh. A few years ago, she wrote down a list of questions she wanted to answer about her own life and its purpose. So she started this project with that list and has added on.

Is this what you were expecting?

What do you value?

What do you think Morpheus meant when he told Neo to “Free your mind”?

What is your biggest regret?

Beyond an entertaining look at the people who make up the Cornell community, Galbut – who calls herself an idealist – said she thinks the page can bring people together and create a greater sense of community on campus.

“I really think it’s going to reach a point where this whole notion of the differences between people is going to drop,” she said. “I’m waiting for that veil that we hold up between each other to go away. In every post, when someone is saying something, I think, ‘I could have said that.’

“That’s what I want.”

Kathy Hovis is a writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.