Cows, Barns, and Good Business

For the first half of the semester I helped out the admissions office by giving information sessions to prospective students. One of the questions that came up more than most was "how do you like Ithaca?", and on my drive out of town for Thanksgiving I realized I should address the question here.

When I first considered applying to business school, I looked predominately at city schools. I distinctly remember the Columbia information session in the Bay Area because 75% of the talk was about all that NYC has to offer. It seemed odd to me at the time because they were giving the presentation to a bunch of tech nerds who were probably far more inclined to believe that Silicon Valley is the center of the universe. Regardless, the point is that a school's location is a pretty important factor in many people's decisions about where to apply.

Last year around this time (in fact, just before the Christmas holiday) I made the long haul from San Francisco to Ithaca for my admissions interview. The experience was transcendental--I knew almost immediately that Cornell was where I belonged. I also understood this to be somewhat ironic because I had been so set on an urban location previously.

Ithaca (and upstate New York more generally) is a strikingly beautiful place. It's almost cliche to point out, as evidenced by the ubiquitous "Ithaca is Gorges" slogan, but sometimes ideas are cliche because they are so true. I've seen quite a bit of this country--I've driven across it twice--and there's no shortage of beautiful spots. Arches National Park in Southern Utah is spectacular and Yosemite is just short of Eden. But Upstate New York has a beauty all its own. My favorite part of the drive to and from Cornell is the view of some of the most picturesque farms you can imagine. The cows and old barns are the stuff of paintings and it's not hard to see why there are so many artists around.

Beauty aside, Cornell's location creates an intimacy at the Johnson School that no city school could ever rival. Upon graduation, we'll all have the opportunity to spend the rest of our lives fighting urban crowds, clawing through corporate bureaucracies, and establishing networks amongst strangers. For now, Ithaca is a respite and I can already see that it's one that never really breaks down. The Johnson School community in diaspora seems to take care of its own pretty well around the world. And believe it or not, there's a contingent that just can't leave Ithaca behind. A few weeks ago I spoke with a CEO and former Johnson School MBA who moved his start-up back to Ithaca, because he felt it was the best place to incubate a small company. I'd be willing to bet that the managers of some of the start-ups out in the Valley who are trying to justify exorbitant office leases in a tough economy might be inclined to agree with him right about now.