Olin Lecture features Big Red Olympians
A panel of Big Red student-athletes—now Olympic medalists!—presented the 2025 Olin Lecture during Reunion.
The panel was introduced by NFL offensive lineman Kevin Boothe ’05 and moderated by NFL and CBS sports broadcaster Aditi Kinkhabwala ’00, and featured three Cornellians detailing their vault from the classroom to the Olympic stage.
Stephen Ogochukwu Mozia ’15 (track and field), Sorin Koszyk ’20 (rowing), and Karen Chen ’23, BS ’25 (figure skating) shared stories from competing at the highest levels in their sports, and also advice on what it takes to succeed as a student athlete.
"The small stuff is what makes the big stuff," Stephen said. "I think often times people have these massive goals. I never had this giant vision at 10 saying I wanted to be an Olympian one day."
He continued: "I wanted to be the best thrower in my county. And then I wanted to be the best thrower in my state of New Jersey. And I wanted to win Ivy League champs. And then I wanted to win NCAA champs. And then, oh, the Olympics! It's right there."
"You can still have these massive goals in your periphery, but you need to remember that there are all these individual steps to be able to get there."
The Olin Lecture was established at Cornell in 1987 through a generous gift from the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Foundation.
