3. Brian Farfel Rose

Several of the alums featured between now and reunion were degree marshals for their respective colleges during our commencement ceremony in May 1995, an honor awarded to the two students in each college with the highest GPA.

Dallas, Texas · Arts and Sciences

Tell us about what you're doing with your life.

The last twenty years have gone by at a frenetic pace. I'm grateful to God for granting me a life which is better than anything I deserve.

I've spent the years in the investment industry, returning to my native Texas to join a private firm after stints with hedge funds in London and Chicago. I spend most of my spare time with my amazing wife and our four awesome kids, ages 11, 10, 7 and 3— maybe there is a future Cornellian among them!

Giving back is important to me, so I serve on the board a few local nonprofits. And I love academia, which I get to support as executive-in-residence for a unit of the SMU business school, where I taught in the past as a faculty adjunct. The Big Red is forever in my veins—I'm the community service chairman for the Dallas Cornell Alumni Chapter.

What was your favorite class at Cornell, or the one you found the most useful?

In my junior year of undergrad, I had the privilege of taking a finance class at the Johnson school, which was taught by Professor Kent Womack. It was a great introduction to the business world, but more importantly the beginning of an amazing dialogue with an amazing teacher. Professor Womack was my mentor through all the early years of my career—to the extent I have made good decisions, it is to his credit and not my own.

· What advice would you give to a student starting at Cornell this year?

Have a good time, but put the books first.

If you could change anything about your Cornell experience, what would it be?
Those Ithaca winters were tough on a boy from Texas—I sure could have used some global warming back then!