Veronica Zellers ’24
Degree: B.S. in health care policy
Hometown: Los Angeles, California

Veronica Zellers arrived at Cornell as an undergraduate interested in how math and science could be applied to improve people’s lives, and found herself gravitating toward health care policy. Originally a Global and Public Health Sciences student, she switched her major and never looked back.

“I love that everyone at the Brooks School is passionate about solving issues that affect human life,” she said. “No matter what subject – immigration, government advocacy, pharmaceutical policy, etcetera – people here are studying in order to make a positive change in the world.”

A key experience for Zellers was working as part of the State Policy and Advocacy Clinic led by Professor Alexandra Dufresne, an attorney who works at the intersection of law and public policy.

“My team fought to expand access to ambulances in rural areas, to protect pregnant women from incarceration, to expand alternatives to incarceration, and to ensure best practices for opioid use disorder treatment in New York State,” Zellers said.

She listed a myriad of skills honed through her classwork at the Brooks School, including using statistics software and writing policy briefs.

“No matter what subject – immigration, government advocacy, pharmaceutical policy, etcetera – people here are studying in order to make a positive change in the world.”

“All of the engaged experiences I was lucky enough to participate in taught me a lot about government advocacy and successfully communicating across differences,” she said. “Faculty at Brooks are such advocates for students. I have learned so much, earned many professional and personal opportunities, and grown as a student, simply through conversations and relationships with professors and many other key figures at Brooks. People here want to see students succeed, and will put themselves out there to make that happen.”

Moving forward, Zellers is planning on applying to law school. In the meantime, she is moving to Paris where she will be teaching English in the public schools and immersing herself in the French language. After law school, she hopes to work on criminal justice reform.

“Brooks enabled me to gain exposure to these issues, to understand the government and policy landscape as well as potential avenues to reform, and instilled in me the spirit and confidence to tackle these issues head-on,” she said.

Zellers also loved being part of a new school at Brooks. “There is something special about being a part of a new endeavor that binds us all together,” she said. “There is a feeling that we are all at the forefront of something innovative. I definitely want to continue pushing boundaries in my career and seeking out people who will hear out forward-thinking ideas, just as has been the case here.”

By Sheri Hall