In our next senior wisdom , Juan Pablo Gatica, reminds us of the importance of the Oxford comma, getting outside your comfort zone, and getting a bunch of ice cream.
Name, School, Major, Hometown: Juan Pablo Gatica, Columbia College, Physics and Math Concentration, Miami, Fl
Claim to fame: I was once in a metal band… teenage me was a very different person.
Where are you going? L.A. to reapply to grad school and figure out how to adult.
What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2022?
Don’t let work/studying get in the way of friendships and getting to know people. There is no point in spending these four years without any friends to share with what will be some of the best and most fond memories.
There is no point in pulling an all-nighter if you’re not going to be productive mid way through the night. If you find yourself stuck on one sentence/equation for an inordinately long time, call the quits, go to bed, and wake up refreshed to work again. Also a lot of deadlines aren’t strict. Ask your professor for an extension; nine times out of ten they’ll be sympathetic and give the extension.
My OL gave me this advice back in my NSOP and it has been a bit of a motto for me since: “Do the things that you wouldn’t normally do.” Now’s the time to explore the world and yourself, make the most of it.
“Back in my day…” You could walk to Cannon’s, never make it past the mass of people between you and the bar 5 feet away, and, inevitably, bump into somebody from Manhattan College.
There was also this groovy thing called a mailbox. They were on Lerner Ramps, you needed a key to use them, and you could just forget about their existence because EMAIL. Also you didn’t have mail services threatening to “throw away” your mail every 2 weeks or so.
Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: The Oxford Comma is a legitimate thing.
What was your favorite class at Columbia? Music Hum was my personal favorite. It so enjoyable after a morning of quantum mechanics I could sit down, listen to beautiful music and then chat about it. Also free/dirt cheap concerts and operas are nothing to sniff at.
Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? Porque no los dos? ̄\_(ツ)_/ ̄
Whom would you like to thank? I would like to thank past me for always remembering to fill up the water bottle and refilling on gum. You go dude. I would also like to thank my brothers at FIJI who have been the bestest friends a guy could ever ask for. In general, I’d like to thank anybody who has ever believed in me whether I was in my highs or lows.
One thing to do before graduating: Do the Ample Hills Creamery summer challenge. You have to visit all of the locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The final stop is in Rockaway Beach where, when you present your completed ice cream passport, you get a free t-shirt, book, and more ice cream! Get some sorbets so you don’t weigh yourself down.
Any regrets? Not making more friends in my department. Physics classes go by a lot better when you have a group of friends to hang with and work on problem sets with. Kind of like Community.
Image via Juan Pablo Gatica