Brenna Mockler
Physics & College Scholar
Davis, CA
What accomplishments/activities are you most proud of while at Cornell?
I'm most proud of my research accomplishments and my accomplishments with the varsity women's soccer team. I've had the opportunity to do a lot of really cool physics research while here, and that's been extremely influential in my decision to study astrophysics in grad school. I'm also really proud of how much our soccer team has improved in the past four years. We went from struggling to win any games to being over .500 and competing in every game we played in.
How did any of your beliefs or interests change during your time at Cornell?
My interest in ethics and philosophy has significantly developed here and led to my College Scholars research in the social impact of physics and also the status of women in physics and astronomy. I've also really enjoyed getting the chance to meet and befriend people with really different perspectives and beliefs – my high school friend group was much more homogenous in our political and religious beliefs and while I don't think my beliefs have changed much at Cornell, I've definitely appreciated the opportunity to better understand other people's differing points of view.
What do you value about your liberal arts education?
I value the opportunity I was given to be both a physics major and a College Scholar. Getting the chance to delve deeply into specific issues in humanities that interested me in addition to being a physics major was a really unique experience, and I could not have done it without the freedom that came with being a College Scholar.
