Fresh from the Hill: Inside Stories of Noteworthy Cornellians Cornell Alumni Association

In the sixth of the CLAA Series for the Fresh from the Hill Podcast, CLAA board members interview the 2023 MacArthur ‘genius grant’ recipient, Manuel Muñoz, MFA ‘98.

In his writing, Muñoz draws on his roots growing up in a Mexican-American family of farmworkers in California’s Central Valley to explore the impacts of racial politics and limited economic opportunities in this region. He tells the stories of a wide spectrum of people, including mothers and sons, U.S.-born citizens and immigrants, young gay men and teenage parents.

Manuel details how his academic work at Harvard lead to him teaching young minds in Boston and how that experience led him to pursue a Master of Fine Arts at Cornell. Manuel details how mentors like Helena Maria Viramontes shaped his love for writing and his appetite for short stories.

Muñoz, who is professor of English at the University of Arizona, has published three story collections, “Zigzagger” (2003), “The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue” (2007), and “The Consequences” (2022), as well as the novel “What You See in the Dark” (2011). He received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 1994.

Plug into this episode as our hosts connect the landscape of topics with one of the luminaries in the novelist world!

Read the ⁠episode transcript⁠.

Hosted by Freddy Terrazas Escamilla MHA '19.
Fresh from the Hill was created by Amanda Massa.
The CLAA episodes were edited and recorded by Joseph De Los Santos, Freddy Terrazas Escamilla, and Kety Esquivel.
Intro music, which that incorporates the sound of the coqui, a frog indigenous to Puerto Rico, by Leonard Washington & Joseph De Los Santos.
Closing music by Kia Albertson-Rogers '13, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠koa3@cornell.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Artwork by Chris Kelly.

*The views expressed by Fresh from the Hill hosts and guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Cornell University.

We're taking a little break from our regularly scheduled series to feature the winners of the 2023 Robert S. Harrison '76 Recent Alumni Volunteer Award, which celebrates the service of a new generation of alumni volunteers and honoring Harrison’s long-standing commitment to Cornell. Harrison served as a student trustee from 1975 to 1976, launching what would become nearly five decades of service to the university.

Tune into this special episode hosted by Cornell Association of Class Officers (CACO) president Julie Vultaggio '02 and learn about the winners -- their backgrounds, what inspires them to volunteer for Cornell and what advice they have for recent alumni looking to stay connected post-graduation.

The 2023 Robert S. Harrison '76 Recent Alumni Volunteer Award Winners:


Vernice Arahan ’14
Julia Buffinton ’14
Kamillah Knight ’13, MPA ’15, MBA ’22
Olivia Moore Nicoletti ’12
Kai Lin Tan ’15

Read the ⁠episode transcript⁠.

Created and produced by Amanda Massa.
Music by Kia Albertson-Rogers '13, ⁠⁠koa3@cornell.edu⁠⁠.
Artwork by Chris Kelly.

*The views expressed by Fresh from the Hill hosts and guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Cornell University.

Mary Carmen Gasco-Buisson '97 takes on our fifth episode of the CLAA series. Mary Carmen charts her path from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico and how it took a chance bet for her to apply to Cornell. She talks about the community she built with folks like Kety during Summer/Fall of 1993 with COSEP as well as some of the struggles she had with English as she was making the transition in the first couple years of school. She then speaks to her drive as a young chemical engineer whose turn in Marketing shifted and elevated her career to where she is at today as Chief Marketing officer of Pandora.

Read the ⁠episode transcript⁠.

Hosted by Kety Esquivel '97.
Fresh from the Hill was created by Amanda Massa.
The CLAA episodes were edited and recorded by Joseph De Los Santos, Freddy Terrazas Escamilla, and Kety Esquivel.
Intro music, which that incorporates the sound of the coqui, a frog indigenous to Puerto Rico, by Leonard Washington & Joseph De Los Santos.
Closing music by Kia Albertson-Rogers '13, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠koa3@cornell.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Artwork by Chris Kelly.

*The views expressed by Fresh from the Hill hosts and guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Cornell University.

Eduardo Peñalver is our next esteemed guest for the fourth episode of the CLAA series. During the discussion, Eduardo tracks his early life from a farm town in the Pacific Northwest, to being thrust as the leader of the Day Hall Takeover. He speaks to some of the awkwardness of being the point person to the Takeover, while receiving a Rhodes scholarship (wow!) just a few days later. He then moves into how he transitioned a successful law career into academia, including some time at Cornell as a professor and dean, before heading into his current role as President of Seattle University. Please join us for this lively conversation.

Read the episode transcript.

Hosted by Kety Esquivel '97.
Fresh from the Hill was created by Amanda Massa.
The CLAA episodes were edited and recorded by Joseph De Los Santos, Freddy Terrazas Escamilla, and Kety Esquivel.
Intro music, which that incorporates the sound of the coqui, a frog indigenous to Puerto Rico, by Leonard Washington & Joseph De Los Santos.
Closing music by Kia Albertson-Rogers '13, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠koa3@cornell.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Artwork by Chris Kelly.

*The views expressed by Fresh from the Hill hosts and guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Cornell University.

Kety Esquivel '97 headlines the third episode of the CLAA series as we dive into the Day Hall Takeover. During the discussion, Kety discusses her path to Cornell and sets the scene as a young first-year student entering Cornell in the Summer/Fall of 1993 with COSEP. She then explores the celebration of several exhibits focused on Latino culture and the devastation in seeing the Revalaciones/Revelations Exhibits by Daniel J. Martinez defaced with discriminatory remarks and how the students turned that anger into action. Kety closes the discussion out with reflections on the successes and the room we still have to go, today.

Read the ⁠episode transcript⁠.

Hosted by Joseph De Los Santos MHA '19
Fresh from the Hill was created by Amanda Massa.
The CLAA episodes were edited and recorded by Joseph De Los Santos, Freddy Terrazas Escamilla, and Kety Esquivel.
Intro music, which that incorporates the sound of the coqui, a frog indigenous to Puerto Rico, by Leonard Washington & Joseph De Los Santos.
Closing music by Kia Albertson-Rogers '13, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠koa3@cornell.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Artwork by Chris Kelly.

*The views expressed by Fresh from the Hill hosts and guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Cornell University.

Ana Pinczuk headlines the second episode of the CLAA series and is the first Board of Trustees member interviewed. Ana is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Dexterity, Inc. and serves on the boards of Aptiv and SentinelOne. Throughout her career, Ana has worked for AT&T, Cisco Systems, Veritas Technologies, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Ana discusses her path to Cornell which started from her upbringing in Argentina as she and her family fled to the United States due to a coup d’etat in her native country. Ms. Pinczuk shares with the group how that experience and the impact it had on her family provided her with the needed grit and perspective to excel in Ithaca. Ana holds a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University and she also holds degrees from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and Carnegie Mellon University.

Read the episode transcript.

Hosted by Joseph De Lost Santos MHA '19
Fresh from the Hill was created by Amanda Massa.
The CLAA episodes were edited and recorded by Joseph De Los Santos, Freddy Terrazas Escamilla, and Kety Esquivel.
Intro music, which that incorporates the sound of the coqui, a frog indigenous to Puerto Rico, by Leonard Washington & Joseph De Los Santos.
Closing music by Kia Albertson-Rogers '13, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠koa3@cornell.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Artwork by Chris Kelly.

*The views expressed by Fresh from the Hill hosts and guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Cornell University.