Skip to main content

Cornell is Gorges

By 2013 Most Valuable Student scholar and Elks Scholar Advisory Board member Nate Baker
Nate Baker, 2013 MVS scholar sponsored by Tyrone, Pa., Lodge No. 212, is the freshman representative on the Elks Scholar Advisory Board and new to college life. Throughout his first year of college, we’ll be following Nate through monthly blog posts. Check back each month to see what new adventures Nate encounters during this first year at Cornell!
Reno, NV—the site of the
2013 Elks National Convention...
...and an awesome time!

After returning home from a wonderful Elks National Convention in Reno, having one last hurrah with my friends, filling out forms for what seemed to be years, and trying to decide what was essential to bring with me to college, I finally made the trip to Cornell University! As I and many other Elks scholars like me (I’m looking at the freshmen) begin their collegiate careers equipped with the gifts, well-wishes, and advice of more-experienced friends and family, we all realize the crazy whirlwind of opportunity that we have been thrown into.

For me, I finally feel like I’ve gained my footing and have become part of a new community. Before move-in, I went backpacking through the Finger Lakes area of New York, learned a lot about the great outdoors, and made an awesome group of friends! After meeting my roommate and moving in, I started to get acclimated to the campus and explored the beautiful natural gorges and waterfalls surrounding Cornell. As I’m sure many other Elks scholars dealt with, a small scheduling dilemma added to the stress and initiation of the first few weeks of school.

Me and a few friends
at Taughannock Falls—
the tallest waterfall in New York state!
Since being at Cornell, I’ve joined the Big Red Marching Band, Model UN, political groups, quiz bowl, and made the men’s volleyball team! Being involved really is the best way to meet people and have a great time in college. Finding the balance between school, activities, socializing, studying and sleep has proved to be almost natural. Next weekend, mom and dad will be coming to visit for homecoming and reload my supply of snacks. The following weekend, I’ll be traveling to Yale (home to fellow Elks Scholar Advisory Board member Olivia Valdes) to witness Cornell win its first Ivy League football game this year! College has been good to me so far and I hope fellow Elks scholars are having a similar experience. Until my next post, good luck to everyone and thanks for reading!

Nate Baker
Freshman Elks Scholar Advisory Board Representative
Cornell University
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Labels

Show more

Popular posts from this blog

Seizing Every Opportunity

Reflections from the SAB President By Kat Nakamura 2019 MVS Scholar Hi, Elks Family! I’m Kat Nakamura, a 2019 MVS Scholar currently serving as the president of the Scholar Advisory Board. My time with the Elks has been a transformative experience, not only providing me with financial support for my education but opening the door to a nurturing community of like-minded individuals and remarkable opportunities. My journey began when I applied for the Elks Most Valuable Student scholarship, and little did I know it was just the beginning of a life-changing adventure. Months later, my mom encouraged me to apply to join the Scholar Advisory Board. Initially hesitant, I thought there was no chance of being accepted. Little did I realize that this decision would lead me to one of my most cherished experiences throughout college. The Scholar Advisory Board are the representatives that advise the ENF on scholar relations. Apart from being on the board, members attend the Elks National Conve
Post a Comment
Read more

A Boatload of Scholars, a Busload of Clothes

By: Aditi V. Patel,  2019 Most Valuable Student scholar Last week, I had the pleasure of serving alongside 20 other amazing Elks scholars as a part of the Tampa Elks Scholar Service Trip. I did my research before the trip and found that Hurricane Ian had displaced more than 40,000 Floridians in September 2022—I wanted to do something to help! After landing in Tampa, we got right to work by sorting a busload (literally) of clothing that Tampa, Fla., Lodge No. 708 collected from the community for Greater Pine Island. We organized each item of clothing by size, made sure each item was in good condition, and placed them into bags. Whenever there weren’t clothes at my table, I would shift to another station to help others, and I saw other scholars doing the same. It was amazing to see everyone laboriously working for hours without any complaints, learning names and fun facts as we went. We had dinner at the Tampa Elks Lodge, which is where I had my first genuine conversations with the s
3 comments
Read more

Finding a Place in the #ElksFamily

by Aleah Hahn, Most Valuable Student Scholar Aleah Hahn received a second place Most Valuable Student scholarship in 2018. She graduated from Michigan State University in 2021 with degrees in Biosystem Engineering and German. She is pursuing her master’s degree in Marine Resource Management at Oregon State. In her free time, she likes to cycle, forage and hike. Over my spring break I was able to partake in the 2022 Spring Elks Scholar Service Trip in Chicago! In 2018, I attended the 150 for 150 Service Trip in San Antonio, where we celebrated the Elks 150th anniversary through service. Both were amazing experiences to serve in the name of the Elks. They were alike but also different in many ways.  In San Antonio, I connected with Elks state leadership from my home state of Michigan since the trip was at the Elks National Convention!  I served with 149 other scholars and met many of them. It was a great opportunity to connect with other scholars. The majority of our service was at Haven
2 comments
Read more