Get smart, children.

Name, School: Sara Schilling, CC

Claim to fame: I’ve been a part of COÖP, CAVA, and Youth for Debate and am an exceedingly fast-talker, but hopefully, it’s mostly for being friendly.

Where are you going? Home to a lake in northern Minnesota until August, then to Chile for a year to work and be very happy. After that, med school (I’d love to be a psychiatrist for Spanish-speaking patients) or full-time bohemian.

Three things you learned at Columbia:

1. No matter how dedicated or “good of a person” you are, it’s really not worth your time to be in a club you are not passionate about or in a relationship/friendship that stresses you out. Days here are long, but the years have flown by, so please please spend them being happy.
2. Everyone has a story—talk to people! If you smile and ask questions, you’ll learn a lot.
3. The pronunciation difference between bag and bagel (though sometimes it still gets me).

“Back in my day…” Frontiers of Science was called Frontiers—none of this FroSci business, and a metro ride was $2.

Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: I once got a man who was hardly responsive to tell me his major and future plans. Also, I enjoy making a fool of myself in the name of icebreakers.

Is the War on Fun over? Who won? Any war stories?: A wise alumna told me to never say no to fun. I say that if you had fun, even if you don’t quite remember it all, you won, so keep having fun. Columbia will deal. The best times you have, however, are those you remember (and don’t end up at St. Luke’s for).

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? Cheese empanadas are the greatest.

Advice for the class of 2015: A few months ago, this Bwog posting on mental health issues in college generated a huge comment thread. At times, you may feel egregiously overwhelmed, out of place, or hopeless, but it is important to remember that (a) you are not alone in that sentiment and (b) just because others feel the same doesn’t make it okay or into some sort of competition. Don’t isolate yourself out of fear or shame. There are many resources in place to support you, and even just talking to a friend does wonders.

On an entirely different note: do COÖP, go to as many of your friends’ events and performances as possible, have frequent and spontaneous dance parties (FYI, “Club Can’t Handle Me” by Flo Rida is key), and run in Riverside and Central Park.

Any regrets? I wish I had done more to tackle the mental health culture issue on campus and that I went to more office hours to simply chat with professors. I also should have spent more time on The Steps. But, overall, it’s been wonderful.