Student Voices & Experiences

Group photo taken at the Sartori Winery in Verona during the 2026 Family Businesses in Italy trek.

From Verona to Parma: Lessons in stewardship from Italy’s oldest family enterprises

A weeklong immersion with the Smith Family Business Initiative reveals how Italian family businesses preserve identity, governance and purpose across generations.

A person stands at a counter inside a small, densely stocked grocery, reading a package beside a metal scale, with shelves of colorful packaged goods and sacks of grains lining the narrow aisles

India’s digital pull revolution: How kirana stores are reshaping global retail

India’s 13 million kirana stores are proving that constraint-born innovation and the digital pull model they built may reshape global retail.

Park Fellows gathering during a leadership session at Cornell Johnson.

Park Perspective: Leading without authority

An MBA student reflects on lessons from the Park Fellowship and leading a trek, building confidence, trust and a leadership voice.

Grand Challenges students deliver equipment to the Bomberos Tarapoto 71 station in Peru
Dyson School

Student delivers equipment to Peruvian volunteer firefighters

During a Cornell Dyson School trip, Kiran O’Kelly ’26 befriended a Peruvian firefighter. He spent the next year organizing an equipment delivery.

Nine undergraduate students standing in front of Sage Hall on campus

From ILR to investment research: Spotlight on Grace Ogden ’22

A Cornell alumna reflects on her investment research path, experience on the Cayuga Fund and current career.

Male student standing in front of a classroom, speaking to the class and pointing at the screen behind him.

Why I returned to the classroom to learn investing

After returning to the classroom, Han uses hands‑on experience in the Cayuga Fund to connect theory and practice to build confidence in his investment ideas.

Tika Diagnestya using a microphone to present with a whiteboard as her backdrop.

Cornell Business Impact Symposium: Making sustainability work

Key insights highlight how to turn sustainability concepts into practical, real‑world impact.

Avery Sheppard holds her first place $25,000 prize.
Nolan School

Hospitality competition winner plans to expand restaurant into a chain

Master’s student Avery Sheppard won $25,000 to put toward her fish and chips eatery by winning the Nolan School’s hospitality business plan competition.

eLab student founder Kate Barclay ’26 pitches her startup, LUCRA, to an audience at the CSV: Student Startup Showcase in San Francisco.
Johnson School

Students pitch startups at Autodesk Gallery

Students travel to San Francisco to pitch startups at the Cornell Silicon Valley: Student Startup Showcase at Autodesk Gallery.