I remember arriving at Cornell in the mid-1990s, thrilled at being part of the Cornell Tradition community and eager to dive into my classes in the College of Engineering.

I had no worries about fitting in or whether I could “cut it”; I had been at the top of my class in high school, taking advanced math and science classes, and I was not daunted in knowing that as a woman in engineering, I’d be in the minority in many of my classes.

But as I progressed through my intro engineering courses, I struggled. I also did not feel as though I belonged, though I was not sure why.

I was able to make it through those classes with decent marks but ultimately decided I did not want to be an engineer after all. Luckily, Cornell’s broad offerings enabled me to stay within engineering but pivot to an interdisciplinary earth science program while specializing in science writing.

If I could go back in time, I would not change a thing.

I shared these reflections and more with Cornellians magazine as part of their Chime In series. Read the full post here.