POST: A special part of Cornell-community life

Forty-three new Cornellians didn’t wait for orientation to learn about Ithaca and the surrounding community. Having chosen to participate in the David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement’s Pre-Orientation Service Trips (POST) program, they arrived before Cornell University’s move-in and spent three days volunteering throughout Tompkins County.

Since POST started 27 years ago, 1,500 incoming Cornell students and their team leaders have provided over 32,000 hours of community service before the Cornell academic year officially begins.

POST gives students the opportunity to build new friendships and ease their transition to college while simultaneously developing an understanding and appreciation for the Ithaca community. For many, POST sparks a commitment to community engagement that lasts through their years at Cornell and beyond.

After a year’s hiatus in 2020, the 2021 POST program ran as a campus-based program, and participants stayed in Cornell residence halls. This year marked the return of a fully community-based program, where the group was housed at a local middle school.

Over the course of the program, the students volunteered with nine different nonprofit organizations, including helping to ready Ithaca City School District classrooms for the start of the academic year, removing invasive plant species from trails and camping areas in state parks and providing some extra hands in the Compost Education area and Community Beautification program at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County (CCE-Tompkins).

POST staff heard plenty of positive feedback from the community partners, as well as an overall need for volunteers at their organizations.

“The POST group was very helpful, and they were incredible workers,” said Adam Michaelides, program manager of Compost Education at CCE-Tompkins. “We got way more done in the compost demo area than I had imagined we would.”

During the evenings, POST participants spent time getting to know the local community and one another through a variety of large group activities led by their 11 leaders, including trips to Purity Ice Cream Co., the Ithaca Farmer’s Market and an end-of-program celebration at Stewart Park.

The combination of team bonding, reflection and community service leaves a lasting impression on participants. When asked what they took away from the program, responses included: “I learned how to be more open and honest when connecting with new people,” “I took away a deeper understanding of myself” and “I understand community service in a new way.”

A lot has changed in the past 19 years since I started coordinating POST. But the one thing that remains constant is the POST experience. Watching the students transition daily from the start of the program through to their last day never ceases to amaze me. It’s just a great opportunity all around and the leaders can’t wait to share their passion for service and love of Cornell with these new students.

Farkas is an associate director of the Einhorn Center and a co-coordinator of the POST program. This is the second of two special East Hill Notes columns on POST. East Hill Notes are published the first and third Wednesdays in Tompkins Weekly.