Cornell Votes!

The pandemic, while causing disruption, did not diminish but rather strengthened my resolve to work with an important on-campus organization, Cornell Votes. Cornell Votes primarily focuses on maximizing voter registration, voter participation, and civic engagement on campus and in the Cornell community. In light of the pandemic, we transitioned from a fellowship to a university-sponsored organization in order to better serve and include our community.

Thanks to my experience with the Scheinman Conflict Resolution Club, I was able to lead the charge by providing an organizational framework and adapting it to our mission.

Our largest objective in transitioning, to write a constitution, required thoughtful conversation and compromise to create a document agreeable to all our members. Mediation and facilitation were essential tools in that process, acquired through my year with the Scheinman Institute.

As of July 4th, 2020, Cornell Votes is now officially a university-sponsored registered organization with a signed constitution and a founding Executive Board, ready to engage all members of the Cornell community to allow their voices to be heard.

Without the skills I learned from the Scheinman Institute and the Scheinman Conflict Resolution Club, this process would have been significantly more difficult and I am grateful to all the professors, students, and Scheinman staff that prepared me to rise to this challenge.

To learn more about or get involved with Cornell Votes, please contact: cornellvotes@cornell.edu