It pays to remember that Cornell is composed of thousands of individuals, all of them pursuing a dream.

Take Sienna Wedderburn, Hotel '07, for example: "I knew that I had to go to Cornell," she says. But she also knew her family could not afford to send her. Scholarships made it possible for her to enroll.

Thanks to the influence of a course on social responsibility, Wedderburn is now committed to working with the Peace Corps to build economic stability in the world's most impoverished places.

There also is Antje Baeumner, associate professor of biological and environmental engineering, who works in analytical biotechnology. She describes her work on the development of inexpensive biosensors that could allow the detection of pathogens in food or water, almost instantly, anywhere in the world.

"I would love to have our devices really being used by societies," she says, "so that people could really be safer and healthier."

Marquise McGraw, A&S '06, talks about his upbringing in a troubled neighborhood and how he hopes to use his training in economics to shape and improve policy.

"I saw on a daily basis crime, drugs, poverty and inequality -- all the despair that accompanies life in the inner city," he says. "I really became interested in this question of why poverty exists, and what can be done about it."

Wedderburn, Baeumner and McGraw are three Cornellians who tell their own stories, in their own words, on the Web site for Far Above ... The Campaign for Cornell, but there are many, many more. Visit http://www.campaign.cornell.edu to hear their stories.

There is no fundraising pitch -- only straight talk from some of the people you pass on the sidewalk, people who share a commitment to hard work and big ideas.

They are a reminder of what Cornell and this campaign are really about.

Bryce T. Hoffman is a writer for Cornell's Alumni Affairs and Development.