Cornell (thank) U

Max Hartley ’29 has been at Cornell for one month—and somehow he’s already everywhere.
The 20-year-old sophomore transfer is studying in ILR, singing with Last Call A Cappella, running, building businesses and creating Sillage—what he calls “Letterboxd for fragrance fans.”
We talk about leaving a college he loved for Cornell, finding his people as a transfer, getting the knock on his dorm-room door that changed his Cornell experience, and why he can sometimes identify a stranger’s cologne just by walking past them.
Plus, can you guess what our game is about? We called it "Do Tell, the Smell."
Max is absolutely amazing and we loved him. Shout out to his mama, Gabby, our sorority sister whom we ADORE, for the introduction.

Not sponsored by or affiliated with Cornell University
And if you are reading this from Cornell Admissions or Administration, you're welcome. What an endorsement.

Gary Yarnell knew he wanted to be a veterinarian at two years old. He never changed his mind.
At Cornell, he raced through undergrad, met his future wife Laurie—and once rescued a parakeet from anatomy lab by putting it in his pocket and sneaking it out. Then came vet school, 45 years of caring for animals, and a Rye practice he built by being there for his patients around the clock. Literally.
Gary tells us what veterinary medicine taught him about animals, people, empathy and letting go; how the profession has changed beyond anything he could have imagined; and why he and Laurie chose to give back to the Cornell Veterinary College that changed their lives.
And after all of it? He’d absolutely do it over again.
Plus: The Vet, The Duet and The Pet. Are Steph and Michelle good dog parents?
We loved this conversation!

Not sponsored by or affiliated with Cornell University

What happens when two Cornell track athletes start commiserating about watered-down iced coffee on a 14-mile run? For Ben Gibson and Mikey Dizon-Bumann, it turned into Kube & Co.
They tell us how they took a problem iced coffee drinkers have dealt with forever and figured out a way to actually solve it—through countless experiments, incredible creativity, unexpected setbacks, and a lot of persistence. We hear why their very different skill sets make them great partners and how Cornell—from the track team to the Hospitality Business Plan Competition—helped them turn Kube & Co. into a growing business. We talk coffee flavors (including some that definitely missed), Shark Tank dreams, why Kube is spelled with a K, and what’s next.
While their skill sets may be different, they share an undeniable charisma. We loved our time with them!
Special thanks to Ayotunde Ejiko (episode 251) for the introduction!
Find their company here: https://kubeand.co/

Not sponsored by or affiliated with Cornell University.

If you’ve been on Cornell’s campus lately, chances are you’ve seen—or heard about—Anmo Li ’28, aka the pogo stick guy.
Anmo is a world-ranked extreme pogo stick athlete and founder of the Cornell Pogo Club. He joins us to talk about Pogopalooza, going viral on campus, why getting good at pogo sticking means getting comfortable with failure, and his plans to help reinvent the modern pogo stick.
We also talk about his path to Cornell as a transfer student, his passion for nutrition and the gut microbiome, his research experience in China, and why the friends he’s made at Cornell mean the most to him.

Since being introduced to Jon Gordon ’93 just a few weeks ago, Michelle has read seven of his books—and genuinely feels changed by them. Then we talked with Jon, and Steph felt it too. There is something about the way Jon thinks, teaches and tells a story that stays with you.
Jon is the bestselling author of more than 30 books, including The Energy Bus, The Carpenter, The Hard Hat and The Power of Positive Habits. He is also one of the world’s most sought-after speakers and works with CEOs, business leaders, coaches and some of the most successful teams in college and professional sports.
We talk about his Cornell lacrosse years, the extraordinary story of George Boiardi ’04, and Jon gets remarkably candid about his own struggles with negativity, fear, failure, forgiveness and marriage. He shares why we should talk to ourselves instead of listening to ourselves, what it means to “forgive fast,” and how small changes in the way we think can change our lives.
And beyond all the wisdom, we just really like Jon. He is warm, funny, generous and completely genuine—and we left this conversation understanding why so many people respond so deeply to him.
A huge thank you our Vino (episode 242) for introducing us. We’re very grateful you did. This one is special.
Find Jon Gordon here: https://jongordon.com
His podcast: The Jon Gordon Podcast

Not sponsored by or affiliated with Cornell University