Athletics group turns gratitude into small acts of kindness

Track athletes Noah Cummings '26 and Abraham Ailemen '26 arrived at Cornell by different paths, but with a shared understanding of opportunity and responsibility.

Cummings grew up outside Washington, D.C., the son of parents who emphasized education, faith and service. His mother, an Ethiopian immigrant and accomplished distance runner, passed down a culture of endurance. Watching his parents make sacrifices for better opportunities for him and his sister, Big Red track alumna Nyia Cummings '24, shaped how he views success.

"When people invest in you," Cummings said, "you feel a responsibility to invest back."

Ailemen's perspective was forged across continents. Born in Ibadan, Nigeria, he grew up in a tightly knit community before moving to Chicago as a teenager. He learned early how to adapt - to new schools, systems and even accents - while holding onto a core value his parents emphasized above all else: gratitude.

"When you've seen how different life can be," Ailemen said, "you don't take any space for granted."

A conversation on a team bus ride back to Ithaca from a track meet inspired the students to help form Men of Color in Athletics (MOCA), a student-athlete campus group that has made quiet, intentional kindness and service a part of its mission. From leaving handwritten notes to uplift staff, faculty and fellow students to hosting fundraisers and career events, the group aims to support each other, but also to serve others.

"This is what leadership looks like," said Nicki Moore, the Meakem and Smith Director of Athletics and Physical Education. "It's not defined by volume or position, by status or spotlight. It's defined by who chooses to care and who chooses to act in the service of others. The men of MOCA are leading with generosity and intention - inviting others in, serving without fanfare, and shaping a culture where belonging is real and leadership is shared. They are shaping our Cornell Athletics culture in powerful ways."

Members of the group - which is open to all interested student-athletes - modeled themselves after the Women of Color in Athletics, which formed in 2020 to support female student-athletes.

"We didn't just want a support group," Ailemen said. "We wanted to show up for the broader community that shows up for us."

Over the past year, MOCA's impact has rippled across campus and beyond.

Through Run Your City Ithaca, a six-week youth sports camp, MOCA members welcomed more than 80 local families, providing free access to organized athletics for children regardless of background. A "Pie an Athlete" fundraiser raised over $200 in one hour to support the program.

Cummings and Ailemen "delivered a strong message with their consistent presence," said Lori Brewington, founder of the Navigator Program for the Greater Ithaca Activity Center (GIAC). "We have kids of all ethnic backgrounds here, but this is a community-based program that caters to underserved young people and families. When young people see leaders who give back without expecting anything in return, that leaves a lasting impression."

During finals week in December 2025, the group partnered with Cornell Transportation Services to create a free-parking day to honor staff, thank faculty and unburden students, Around Thanksgiving, MOCA members wrote and delivered nearly 200 thank-you cards to custodial staff, dining employees, faculty, administrators and coaches.

"What struck me most wasn't just the free parking," said Julie Greco, director of communications for the ILR School, who received a note, signed by MOCA, thanking her for making Cornell a better place. "It was that the student-athletes were thinking about others during one of the most stressful times of the semester. It says a lot about the kind of leaders they're becoming."

On National Coaches Appreciation Day and again on Valentine's Day, MOCA members personally visited athletics staff, including every men's head coach, with treats and handwritten messages.

The group co-hosted the Cornell Classic: Spike for a Cure, a Spikeball tournament that brought together student organizations and varsity teams from across campus and raised nearly $1,000 for the American Cancer Society.

Throughout the year, MOCA has hosted professional development workshops from résumé reviews and LinkedIn sessions to application seminars and professional headshots, designed specifically for student-athletes navigating demanding schedules.

"There's an asymmetry to kindness," Cummings says. "The effort can be small, but the impact can be huge."

Staff members have reached out to say thank you. Faculty have shared photos of handwritten notes on social media. Teammates have texted in surprise.

For Ailemen, those moments validate the approach.

"Sometimes people think change has to be loud," he said, "but often, it's just human."

Jeremy Hartigan is senior associate director of athletics for communications.