Laine Havens
Astronomy & Science and Technology Studies
Canandaigua, N.Y.
What was your favorite class and why?
It’s hard to pick — I’ve had a lot of fun classes over the years. The one that comes first to mind is ASTRO 4410: Multiwavelength Astronomical Techniques with Professor Gordon Stacey and Professor James Cordes. ASTRO 4410 is a small lab class, and I was lucky enough to take it with friends. We had great professors and enjoyed the community. Most of all, I had so much fun going to the Hartung-Boothroyd Observatory or the roof of the Space Sciences Building to take data. I decided a while back that I wanted science communication to be my main pursuit. Because of this, I mainly sought communication opportunities, rather than research. Yet, I never left my love of practicing science behind me. Having the opportunity to take and analyze my own data was an experience I will always fondly look back on.
What is your main extracurricular activity and why is it important to you?
My main extracurricular throughline at Cornell has been improv as a part of Pants Improv Comedy. Outside of academic pressure or scripts, improv is the best way to blow off steam in a fun, creative way. I met some of my best friends through improv, and I also loved getting to know the other Cornell comedy groups. The community has been so supportive and such a wonderful social sphere full of creativity. Improv has also taught me so many skills, like speaking in front of large crowds and thinking on the fly. It’s weird because the first rule of improv is that there are no rules, but there actually kind of are rules. You’re thinking in a framework the whole time, so improv really taught me to be creative within a set of guidelines. I think this mode of thought translates well to so many other circumstances and has really helped me.
What have you accomplished as a Cornell student that you are most proud of?
I am most proud of my attitude shift while at Cornell. I embraced my love of learning again and stopped worrying about grades (as much). Challenging STEM courses taught me to abandon my focus on a number and instead focus on the material, having faith that a grade would follow. I stopped taking shortcuts and engaged with learning. I also recently took the course STS 4442: Toxicity with Professor Stacey Langwick. This class altered my perspective on the world in so many ways. Rather than looking for simple ways to sum up issues, we sat in the grey areas, complicating them and seeing them for the messes they truly were. We untangled, and then re-tangled issues. As our final project in STS 4442, we created zines that we exhibited at The Soil Factory. I put together a zine on the Cayuga Salt Mine and its deep ties to the local Lansing community. Through this process, I conducted site visits to better understand how salt mining deeply roots itself in Lansing. It was a completely new experience, but one I really enjoyed. Presenting my zine and hearing feedback from community members was extremely enriching.
If you were to offer advice to an incoming first year student, what would you say?
My advice to incoming students is to go to office hours and get to know your professors and teaching assistants. It’s very cliche, and I remember getting the same advice as a freshman. It was something I was too nervous to act on for quite some time, so I ended up learning the lesson for myself, but it is so true.
Every year, our faculty nominate graduating Arts & Sciences students to be featured as part of our Extraordinary Journeys series.Read more about the Class of 2025.
