Two Cornell alumnae will discuss how they have navigated setbacks and uncertainty at a free public REALTalk event Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. in Sage Chapel in Ithaca.
The annual panel, themed “Finding Your Inner Strength”, will feature Lydia Anglin Grant, an attorney who advises clients on sustainability and regulatory matters at Kirkland & Ellis, and Angela Lu, who works with life sciences and biopharmaceutical clients at Acumetis. Cornell said people can attend in person or watch a livestream.
Grant and Lu graduated from Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations in 2018 and 2013, respectively. The discussion will address self-doubt, unexpected setbacks and the pressure to have a clear path forward. A question-and-answer session will follow, and an open reception will give attendees a chance to meet the speakers.
Speakers bring different paths to the panel
Grant, a Houston native and daughter of Jamaican immigrants, founded Cornell's Black Ivy Pre-Law Society. As a student, she interned on Wall Street and in the Obama administration and lobbied Congress twice on student federal financial aid policy. She later earned a law and business degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2023.
Lu was born in Canada, grew up in Hong Kong and came to the United States to attend Cornell. Her career has taken her across seven cities and three countries. At Cornell, she participated in the Forensics Society, faQ Online and The Advocacy Center; she now serves as president of Cornell Pride, the university's LGBTQIA+ alumni association. Lu earned an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis in 2019.
Cornell said the alumnae will draw on those experiences to discuss how they handled uncertainty and built confidence. Elizabeth Kennedy, associate dean of students and director of the Gender Equity Resource Center, said the event is an opportunity to hear how the speakers found resilience during difficult periods.
Annual series brings alumni back to campus
REALTalk stands for Relatable, Empowering, Authentic Leaders. The Gender Equity Resource Center presents the series with support from an endowment established by Cornell's Chi Chapter of Delta Gamma. The endowment funds recurring visits by alumni to share their experiences with students and the wider Cornell community.
Kessie Ragland, a Delta Gamma member and liaison to the center, and Katrina Greene, a student coordinator for the center, will moderate the panel. Ragland said the event connects current students with alumni who have faced similar uncertainties. Greene said the conversation can show students that finding a path does not require having every step settled in advance.
REALTalk is free and open to the public. Cornell's event listing provides details for attending or watching online.
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