Many incoming students come to Cornell with interests they want to explore further. For Natalie Breitkopf ‘22, some of those interests included journalism, entertainment, and politics, which she believes her American Studies major helped her explore.
She described the interdisciplinary major as one that allows you to “plot your own course” and “grow your mind,” referring to the courses she’s taken in history, music, and architecture to name a few.
Breitkopf credited Professor Andrew Moisey for assisting her throughout her time at Cornell.
“I took his Intro to Visual Studies class [in my freshman year] and he ended up being my faculty advisor for my podcast,” Breitkopf said.
She described her podcast “Shifting And Shaping”—focusing on community engagement through the lenses of history, law, and the arts—as unintentionally created during the pandemic.
In the summer of 2019, she went to an immigration court where she witnessed faults within the immigration system. She went back to Cornell, wanting to learn more about how the dysfunctional system impacts the University’s students and faculty.
She realized her resident hall director had DACA status and they soon planned a year-long partnership to create a documentary that highlighted his experiences on campus and surrounding spaces. However, to better accommodate the pandemic, they switched to a podcast medium, which is part of her independent coursework through the American Studies major.
She hopes that “people who have listened to it in the Cornell community, and beyond, learned something from that because the people who really put it together care so much about the issues that they’re working with.”
In addition to her podcast, Breitkopf is involved in the Quill & Dagger Senior Honors Society, the highest non-scholastic honor within reach of undergraduates, according to the New York Times.
“I’m honored to be in the space and I think it’s the culmination of my last four years at Cornell. I’m very grateful for the education I’ve had here and the experience I’ve had and the people I’ve worked alongside,” Breitkopf said.
During her time as a student in the department, she has learned about the importance of extending oneself into a community to spark collective growth.
So why American Studies? Breitkopf said it gives students a “well rounded perspective on American issues that you can look outwardly into the world” and is “a wonderful opportunity to learn about academic tenets of American thought.”
