Joe Giles
School of Hotel Administration
Tell us about what you're doing with your life
After a long career with the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team, I’m now semi-retired and serving on a couple Boards, volunteering, exercising and spending time with my family.
What is your favorite memory of your time at Cornell?
I really enjoyed the Grateful Dead concert at Barton Hall and witnessing all the dead heads visit our campus, some sleeping in our dorm hallways😳
Which Cornell classmates do you keep in touch with?
I keep in touch with a lot of fraternity brothers, sorority friends, lacrosse players and many hotelies.
How has your time at Cornell influenced you since you graduated?
The camaraderie of the Cornell Alumni network has been a strong bond. I attend 1-2 Cornell lacrosse games a year and watch most of them on TV. It’s fun to watch several of the graduates play in the professional lacrosse leagues.
What extracurricular activity or hobby from your time at Cornell was most meaningful?
I enjoyed the social life mostly from Greek life and the lifelong friends I made through that experience. Me and my family still vacation with some of them and it’s nice to keep in touch.
If you could change anything about your Cornell experience, what would it be?
I wouldn’t change anything. I loved my time there and it was fun visiting campus in later years (my oldest daughter attended Cornell). Hanging out in College town, swimming in the gorge, running through the beautiful campus, and attending athletic events are all fond memories.
What does being a Cornell alumnus mean to you?
It means you have a special bond with other CU alumni and I often am contacted by current students asking for career advise and that is rewarding and fun getting to know them.
What advice would you give to a student starting at Cornell?
Do more than just attend Cornell…be an active participant in it. Go to the theater, listen to a music performance, write for the paper, go to concerts, hit some athletic games (especially hockey and lacrosse) and check out all Ithaca has to offer. The more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.
What are you most looking forward to at Reunion 2024?
At the reunion, I hope to re-connect with some people I haven’t seen in ages, check out the Campus and enjoy Ithaca.