Genevieve Richards ’23

I met my best friend at Cornell through APO my first semester, at Libe cafe as part of “blind friendship match”. She would later go on to become my big, and I would later go on to become a big to four new APO members. This was Fall 2019, the first month of my freshman year, and I still credit it as one of the best things that happened to me at Cornell. Joining APO was important not only because I was able to make friends and contribute to my community through service, but because of what APO means to so many people on Cornell’s campus. APO is an inclusive organization where everyone is accepted, at a school that unfortunately has an exclusive culture with many competitive clubs. To be a part of APO, through leadership and just as a brother, has been to contribute further to this sense of inclusivity and establish its importance on this campus.
I hope that new members can continue to feel welcomed and like they’ve found a home through APO. I hope they know they can reach out to anyone, and there is always a warm place for them here in this sometimes quite cold environment. I can say without a doubt that joining APO is one of the best decisions I made at Cornell. In LFS!