'I am proud I accepted the challenge of high-level courses'

Sophie Uluatam 

Mathematics
Andover, Mass.

Why did you choose Cornell?

I remember visiting during Cornell Days as a senior in high school. I went to dinner one night at RPCC and sat at a table with 20 other prospective students. It may sound cliche, but the conversations I had that night were so rich, and the people I met were all so uniquely interesting. I remember thinking that I wanted to be surrounded by people like that during college, and that's when I decided on Cornell. 

girl doing archery

What is your main extracurricular activity and why is it important to you?

Archery! I was a competitive archer before college, and have been passionate about the sport since I first picked up a bow. I was determined to maintain my training throughout college. I joined the archery club the minute I stepped on campus, and found in it a community of students who shared my love of the sport. Some of my favorite memories from the past four years are from traveling to tournaments with the team. 

What have you accomplished as a Cornell student that you are most proud of, either inside the classroom or otherwise?

As a freshman, I enrolled in the honors-level calculus course, unsure what to expect. I was quickly intimidated both by the obvious intelligence of my classmates and by the difficulty of the course. Nonetheless, I stuck with it, spending however much time it took for me to wrap my head around this new and abstract way of thinking about math. I went on to take the full honors math sequence, and I am proud that I accepted the challenge of these high-level courses and pushed myself to succeed in each of them. 

What are your plans for next year? 

I plan to take some time to pursue my dream of competing on the U.S. Olympic Archery Team. 

girl outside NASA sign

Where do you dream to be in 10 years?

I want to pursue a career that allows me to apply my love and knowledge of mathematics and computer science to real-world issues— particularly those involving climate. I interned at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory for two summers, during which time I worked on climate-related data science projects.  I would love to pursue similar work in my professional career. (I also plan to own at least one dog).  

Every year, our faculty nominate graduating Arts & Sciences students to be featured as part of our Extraordinary Journeys series. Read more about the Class of 2021.

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