While many of my fellow class members are getting ready to pick up their caps and gowns and pose for graduation pictures, I am not. 

That is because I have already done that — just one semester early. 

And although I am writing my graduation column now, for the past five months or so, I have delved headfirst into post-graduation life. This unique timing leaves me both similarly removed from the college experience and having a minuscule taste of what awaits after. So, I figured I’d share what I think is the biggest takeaway from my stint outside of Ithaca. 

Like many of my fellow graduates, I entered college focused on a defined path: Follow the syllabus, get decent enough grades and most importantly, make memories with friends. Cornell did teach me a whole lot about sticking to a routine, delivering under tight deadlines and producing quality work to reflect the effort I put into it. 

Yet, when I ponder what has truly stuck from my three and a half years on the Hill, I resonate most with what one of my professors told me: “It doesn’t matter how much you learn here about physics, literature and mathematics if when you step off campus you forget that those subjects are above all else, about the people whose lives you interact with every day.” 

These words hold a dual meaning. First and foremost, they drive home the importance of holding empathy. Secondary to that, though, is the importance of your sense of ownership over yourself and your own actions. 

Throughout college, there is no place where this translates more than to my work at The Sun. The paper gave me my first opportunity to........

© Cornell Daily Sun