By Lauren Simpson
Cornell Athletic Communications 

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Although cliché, this holds true for Big Red volleyball alumna Amy Gordon Franzen '08, whose life today is influenced by two things that have been, and will always be, a special part of her life – volleyball and Cornell University.

Franzen's love for volleyball came long before Cornell. She was ahead of her time, first getting involved in the sport when she was five or six years old, when most didn't get their first taste of the sport until junior high or high school. Having a volleyball background themselves, her parents played a huge role in this.

"My parents actually met each other playing volleyball, and so as the oldest in the family, I was somewhere between bred into it and pressured into it from a very young age, and I couldn't be happier about that," said Franzen.

Franzen's passion for the sport flourished over the years, leading her to Cornell where she was a member of some of the most successful Big Red volleyball teams in program history. During her time as a setter, Cornell won three straight Ivy League titles from 2004-06 and made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2005 and 2006. She was appreciative of the team's success then, and still is now, looking back fondly on those seasons.

"I don't know how, but we never really took it for granted, and I give a lot of credit to our captains, coaches, and administration for keeping us appreciative of how special it was to have such success and such a cohesive team," said Franzen.

Franzen served as a two-time team captain herself, including during her junior season in 2006 when the Big Red won the outright Ivy League title and returned to the NCAA Tournament. Her name is ingrained in Cornell volleyball history to this day, as she still ranks fifth all-time in career assists (2,465) and career assists per set average (9.16). As for Franzen, the moment that the Big Red secured the 2006 Ivy League Championship and NCAA Tournament bid is similarly ingrained in her memory.

"We beat them (Princeton) pretty handily, and it was senior night that night," said Franzen. "It was one of the best moments of my life – winning that match, getting to celebrate after, and then knowing that we were going to go to the NCAAs again."

Cornell clearly holds a special place in Franzen's heart. After all, it is where she met her husband and her best friends, many of whom she is still in contact with frequently today. When it comes down to it, she owes a large part of it to the sport of volleyball.

"I remember, I think it was Whitney Fair ('06), who was a junior when I was a freshman, sitting all the freshmen down and saying, 'Your volleyball teammates will be your best friends. You will meet all of your friends through volleyball,'" said Franzen. "At the time it felt overwhelming, but she was so right."

Her husband, Willy Franzen '06, was a Cornell volleyball enthusiast. He could be found in the stands at nearly every game in Newman Arena, donning his familiar red and white striped jacket. You could say that it was volleyball that brought them together, just like Gordon Franzen's parents. Once again, the forces of volleyball and Cornell had a profound influence on Franzen's life.

Today, Franzen works for Tempus Labs in Chicago, Ill., which specializes in utilizing a data-driven approach to better improve outcomes in cancer. She serves as the General Manager of the company's business unit that focuses on improving the efficiency of clinical trials. Since joining the start-up in 2016, she has helped grow Tempus Labs to about 1,800 employees and has helped raise close to a billion dollars in funding.

Not surprisingly, Franzen still plays volleyball practically any chance she gets, as the sport continues to be a family affair. Not that her husband had a choice, but he's caught the volleyball bug as well.

"Since meeting me, he (Willy) realized that if he's going to part of my family, he needs to learn volleyball," said Franzen. "Happily, he's gotten really good at playing, and so when we go on family vacations and all of that, he's now one of the Gordons."

Now with an almost two-and-a-half year-old, Franzen's love for volleyball has come full circle.

"We are certainly trying to somewhere between breed him and force him into the sport also," said Franzen.

Given how Franzen got her start playing the sport that has come to shape a large part of her life, this is only fitting. She remarks that Cornell was "just this unbelievable four years," and when it is considered just how big of an impact the school had on her future, it's hard to disagree.