ITHACA, NY Emily Adams was born to Molly and Barry Adams, known and widely admired for their many contributions to Cornell and our community â teaching courses, writing books, creating new departments and serving on every town board in Caroline, NY.
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Emily headed off after high school to Carleton College in Minnesota and studied geology, natural history and sustainability. Winter days were often below zero; Emily fondly recalls the underground tunnels on campus that made almost all travel to class seasonal.
Following college, Emily and her husband headed to Kenya to serve as Peace Corps teachers in rural villages. While settling into adult married life in a new culture in a new continent, Emily observed the heartbreakingly cruel treatment of young girls and other disadvantaged groups. âWhen visitors came the teachers brushed the girls out of the classroom saying, âAll girls make tea!â One of the 16 year-old girls, impregnated by one of the tea