Rage for the wage!

Need to feel empowered and confident in order to push yourself through finals? You’ve come to the right place. Bwog’s back today with more Senior Wisdoms. First one up, the amazing Nikita Singareddy! 

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Nikita Mary Singareddy, Columbia College. History major with a Statistics concentration. Lived all over (MI, MA, GA) but born and raised in Melbourne, Australia.

Claim to fame: Known for being short. Also interning too much (*cough* Koch Industries *cough*), leading the progressive Roosevelt Institute, fighting for $15 and a union, advising the Office of Student Conduct, and writing a Spec column. I went to Andover and still get grief for it. I run a pretty irreverent, pretty political Twitter account (@singareddynm) and was blocked by Martin Shkreli before it was cool.

Where are you going? The family just moved to Chicago, so I’ll be interning (see, I told you) this summer for the Department of Commerce with a focus on IoT, blockchain, and autonomous vehicles. I’m also planning a road trip along the western seaboard with my boyfriend. Then I’ll be back in Astoria – with Karim! – to consult for IBM.

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2021?

1) Bite the hand that feeds you. Hegemonic Columbia dislikes adapting. It’s your job to push for necessary changes if you value the University as an egalitarian institution. Having the right opinion on what’s going wrong doesn’t give you an excuse for allowing the wrong to proliferate. Vocally advocate for divestment, unionization, food security, etc. Moreover, fight the school on its restrictive academic policies. I had to continuously bother the advising office to give me a rare exception to the Global Core requirement and count a P/D/F class towards my concentration.
2) People will make you feel like you don’t know enough, and that your tastes are less refined than theirs. Fuck ‘em and fuck their prescriptivism.
3) It’s okay to graduate and still not know what you want to do. I’d be more concerned if you had everything perfectly aligned. So try anything that tickles your fancy! That’s why I interned throughout my time at Columbia. Mentors also offer germane advice. They’ll always be there to help you on the internship / soul search. As my friend Allie O’Keefe says: “People are willing to give advice to the people who are willing to take it.”

“Back in my day…” The 1020 line wasn’t that long, laundry wasn’t free, and Trump wasn’t president.

Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer Hot chocolate-loving, dirtbag Leftist. Stressing out my Spec editors. “She was a vixen when she went to school. And though she be but little, she is fierce.” – Shakespeare.

What was your favorite class at Columbia? Technology, Religion, Future by David Kittay. No question.

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? Cheeeeese. Food tech will likely develop a bacterial culture that emulates every conceivable flavor of cheese. And there’s no substitute for amazing oral.

One thing to do before graduating Go on a school-sponsored trip. Seriously. They’re subsidized (sometimes even free), occasionally fulfill the science requirement, and will take you across the globe to countries like Japan, Brazil, and Israel.

Any regrets?
1) Lazing around in bed when I should’ve gone out and socialized.
2) Being a bad roommate. Even as a first year lacking self-awareness and self-regulation, I had no license to cross boundaries and disrespect my suite mates.
3) And this one is really important: realize when it’s time to get out of an abusive, toxic relationship. I justified staying with someone, ultimately hurting them and being hurt in return, because I was scared I’d never find love again. Caring and empowering yourself should be the ultimate priority. A good partner will support you without bringing you down.

We C U Nikita! via Nikita