Chris Hallman/University Photography

Seven generations of farming, plus a Cornell major in communication, have given CALS senior Laura Borden the ingredients she needs to head to Albany to work in public relations for the New York Farm Bureau.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- In 2002 Cornell University senior Laura Borden was one of 11,500 people who relayed the Olympic torch across the United States before it arrived in Salt Lake City, where the winter games were held. Nominated by her aunt, and she ran one-fifth of a mile in Saratoga, N.Y., before passing the torch to a football player from the Philadelphia Eagles.

At Cornell in the years to follow, the communication major in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) pursued her interest in marketing and public relations by leading others, interning, volunteering, tutoring, working as a student-TV producer, a reporter and a columnist.

"I am pretty persistent," says Borden, who hails from rural Schaghticoke, N.Y., about 40 miles north of Albany. "When I see something I want to get involved in, I go for it and try to take a leadership role."

She credits her drive to a passion for agriculture. Seven generations of farming appear to have had an effect on her. She says she is able to translate that passion into everything else she does.

Borden adds that she likes to "help other people get the word out about what they are doing." Her interest in marketing began at her family's small retail store, where they sold products from their dairy farm and apple orchard and produce from other local farmers. To promote the store, Borden created marketing signs and helped her father write store ads and articles for the local press.

Using this experience as a springboard, Borden worked in 2003 and 2004 as promotions director for On Site Volunteer Services, a national student-run, organization that links volunteers with the needs of nonprofit agencies. She created marketing campaigns on campus to get students to donate their time to more than 40 nonprofit agencies in the Ithaca area.

This year Borden helped create, promote and market a permanent exhibit space in Mann Library for student projects from the College of Human Ecology and CALS.

Serving as president of the Cornell chapter of the Association for Women in Communication (AWC) during her sophomore and junior years stands out as one of the highlights of her undergraduate experience, she notes. The AWC gives female students an opportunity to meet and network with professional women. During her first year as president, the local chapter received five national recognitions from AWC. Borden worked to bring high-profile speakers to meetings and luncheons and built up chapter membership to an all-time high.

In 2004 she won the AWC Rising Star Award, the highest honor for a student member. The award is given to one student nationally each year for leadership activities and contributions to school and community.

"That meant a lot because it [AWC] was something I dedicated a lot of time to during my four years here," said Borden, who also has served as an intern at two public relations firms during the summers.

In another leadership role, she was chair of the CALS Ambassadors -- a student-run public relations organization that works with the admissions office to facilitate communication between prospective students and alumni. Borden also produced the Campus Insights TV Show, wrote a column for the Cornell Daily Sun and won News Rookie of the Year for work at 93.5 WVBR radio station in Ithaca.

Among her numerous awards are a Women Executives in Public Relations Award, an American Business Woman's Association Award, an Anson Rowe Cornell Communications Award and a Schwartz Award for Excellence in Agricultural Journalism.

This summer, she will be moving to Albany, where the New York Farm Bureau has created a position for her, doing public relations and marketing communications.