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Kathy Houng in the chimes room of McGraw Tower.

Robert Barker/University Photography

Major: Nutritional sciences, global health minor
College: Human Ecology
Hometown: Eatontown, N.J.

For its diversity and for offering the best of both worlds by housing smaller colleges within a larger university. Plus there there are so many different programs, performances, lectures, festivals, etc. to attend each week.

Being a resident adviser in Donlon Hall and a manager at the student phoning program of the Cornell Annual Fund. I had a difficult time transitioning as a freshman and navigating Cornell's complex systems. I am eager to share my knowledge so students don't have to go through the same troubles that I had to.

Becoming a Cornell chimesmaster was probably one of the most challenging moments of my time at Cornell. Not only was it a test of endurance (with its 10-week audition), but also a test of self-motivation. The payoff is incredibly rewarding, as I get to share in a timeless Cornell tradition.

Spring semester sophomore year. We had just been evacuated from Kenya in January 2008 (while on a service project in Kenya to train locals on nutrition and managing HIV/AIDS), disappointed that our project had ended abruptly. I was frustrated, questioning my motives for coming to Cornell and wondering what it was all for. As I reflected back, I realized that the purpose of doing all of these things was to pave the way for future students to partake in the same enriching experiencing without as many barriers. This philosophy has defined the remainder of my time here at Cornell.

I came here to follow a traditional pre-med route with a focus on nutrition. My interests have expanded to include global health, education, anthropology and South Asian film (thanks to a randomly selected freshman writing seminar). The beauty of Cornell's breadth and depth of academics and extracurricular activities is that it gives you a chance to explore the whole spectrum of interests and turn these interests into passions.

Thanks to the Iscol Family's Leadership Award in Public Service, I've had two incredible summer experiences: one at an education/research-based nonprofit through the College of Human Ecology's Urban Summer Program, and one at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College and a local HIV/AIDS-focused nonprofit in Moshi, Tanzania, through the Global Health department.

Slope Day 2009. In monsoonlike weather conditions, I was scheduled to play the evening chimes concert at 6 p.m. I wove between the sea of bewildered students staring at the approaching storm clouds and made my way to the tower just in time. The wind was howling ferociously and shook the entire tower while I climbed to the top. By the time I reached the belfry, the floodgates had opened. I stood against the cement columns, drenched from head to toe, watching as thousands of people migrated (in their own fashion - dancing, running, skipping) up the slope. I proceeded to "Rick Roll" (randomly inserting Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" within a song) the campus just as the sun was beginning to set, a musical tribute to the weather conditions of the day.

Next year, I will be working for the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action in Penang, Malaysia. After a year or two, I plan to go to graduate school to pursue something related to international or public health.