According to friends who nominated him, this next senior is a “game changer.” Also, last week he churned out a 45-page paper in a single night only typing with one hand because of an injury. How’s that 15 pager lookin’ now?
Name, School: Kamal Yechoor, SEAS
Claim to fame: I’m that guy you see in Butler watching sports on his computer because I’m too ambitious to waste my day watching sports in my room, but too lazy to actually do any work once I’m in the library… I’m the only person you know that has suffered significant nerve damage just by sleeping on his arm while drunk… Also, I was the class president of SEAS 2011 for 3 years sending my fellow engineers colorful and informative “weekly emails” every other month.
Where are you going? Cambridge, Massachusetts to be a consultant, but you’re probably more likely to find me in Logan Airport.
Three things you learned at Columbia:
1) The amount of time you will need to finish that paper/p-set/presentation you’re working on is exactly equal to how much time you have left to work on it.
2) Nobody, and I mean nobody, cares about student government except for maybe those currently involved in student government. (To the vast majority of you, this is likely obvious, but for me, this took me a while to learn)
3) Most people enter Columbia believing that they’re mature individuals, already equipped to handle everything that goes along with attending an Ivy League school in New York City. However, those people that truly understand that they can change, mature, and discover themselves along the way, are the ones that have the most fun at this school.
“Back in my day…” Hmm, the Global Core was called Major Cultures, Ferris Booth wasn’t a dining hall… actually, about that – I used to love the Ferris Pasta. It was exactly what I wanted, it was cheap ($6) and they actually gave you legit take-out boxes for them. It was basically the only thing I got from Ferris. Now, Ferris is all you can eat. But the pasta WAS all I wanted to eat anyway, and now its twice as expensive! Its still good though.
Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: I’ve seen every single Jacksonville Jaguars game since 1999, I am ranked 84th in the world at Fantasy Golf, and I’m a sucker for catchphrases.
Is the War on Fun over? Who won? Any war stories? Let me preface this by saying, students will always find a way to have fun, but really, we lost. Just the other day, it was like 3am, and I just wanted to sit on the steps, blankly stare at Butler, John Jay, and South Lawn, while reminiscing about some of my memories, when Public Safety ordered me to leave. Apparently a student sitting on the steps late at night is considered a security threat. War on Fun or not, Columbia will always be a fun place, we all just may have to try a little harder than we used to.
Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? Oral sex. And its not even close. As a vegetarian, what am I left with? I can’t survive on cereal and salads.
Advice for the class of 2015:
1) This applies for SEAS students only: Don’t take the “Engineer’s Way Out” (Global Core) when completing your core requirements. Take LitHum or CC.
2) Columbia is a very difficult place to go to school. However, all the pessimism, and cynicism that pervades this campus through what always seems to be the longest winter of your life will be wiped away come the first nice day of the year, when that ever-elusive green flag makes its appearance. DO NOT MISS BEING OUTSIDE ON THIS DAY. The campus truly comes alive. There is nothing quite like it.
3) There are so many opportunities here! Find your niche. It may take you a while to find it, but finding something (a team, a club, a class, or a cause) to successfully invest your time in, will most likely result in some of your most satisfying memories of college.
Any regrets? I made the mistake during much of my time here of knowing way too many people without actually “knowing” very many people at all. Recently, I’ve been able to rectify that and it has thoroughly improved my experience at Columbia. Its never too late to find people that you care about.
Know someone wise? Submit your nominees’ UNIs and a few good tales to editors@bwog.com.
47 Comments
@Anonymous It’s toolbags mcgee!
@DYLANNNNNNNN KAMALLLLLLLLLLL
@narayan What can I say? Kamal’s an articulate and humorous guy! Some of the best wisdom I have gotten throughout my years have been from Kamal. Congrats Kamal on clearly, a successful 4 years!
@claudia Such a great senior wisdom, kammy! When I read the part about the pasta in Ferris I literally yelled “ME TOO!!” — that and the stir fry noodles is all I ever wanted from Ferris, and then they went and ruined it :(
Let’s build on that
@Anonymous \significant nerve damage just by sleeping on his arm while drunk\ AKA Saturday Night Palsy, n yeah, That’ll happen!!
@SEAS alum Kamal is a wise kid, love it!
@I'm sorry but I couldn’t get past the intro about the 45 page paper.
Hot damn.
@anonymous nice job, well-written and heartfelt
@love it I wish I knew this guy! legit awesome senior wisdom.
@Anonymous Love it! Very solid senior wisdom. Nice work.
@word -- student government and theatre — i’m just waiting for sean udell’s right now. expect a lot of exclamation points.
@This man is so wise. “1) The amount of time you will need to finish that paper/p-set/presentation you’re working on is exactly equal to how much time you have left to work on it.”
@Anonymous this is really funny but the demographic of these senior wisdoms is really specific
@. this was a really nice senior wisdom
@Dear Bwog, Do you post all of the Senior Wisdoms you got from the original nominations list? Or just some? Would be good to know so I stop obsessively checking for mine.
Thanks,
CC ’11
@Anonymous Chill, Dhurv. Yours was posted last week.
@fellow vegetarian Glad he made that point about cheese. It’s so true.
@I'd still rather Get head
@YEAEYEAYEAYEAYEAYYEA whats up with all these asexual seniors?
@Anonymous Why doesn’t BWOG have any GS seniors?
@Anonymous I agree with your sentiment, but I cringe at the all-caps Bwog
@I think I love you
@Anonymous 1) The amount of time you will need to finish that paper/p-set/presentation you’re working on is exactly equal to how much time you have left to work on it.
@Anonymous Someone doesn’t know the difference between its and it’s. >:(
@Anonymous Global Core isn’t the “Engineer’s Way Out” if you actually pick classes that interest you. I’ve learned a huge amount in the two I took and really enjoyed them. Like any class, it is what you make of it. If you pick the reputably “easy” classes just for the grade then you’re missing out.
Yeah, it’s tempting in SEAS to pick easy core classes to try to offset that barely-scrapped-a-B, why-do-engineering-professors-like-to-torture-us class, but resist the urge!
@Anonymous didn’t you take global core kamal?
@kamal yea, and i did like the classes I took, but always wanted to try lit hum/cc. maybe this should have been a regret instead!
@Streck Drafting Blaine Gabbert? Let’s build on that. It might take a couple of years for him to be a franchise QB, but we can’t be worried about it.
@Sasha Kamal, this is one of the best senior wisoms yet. Lets build on that.
Kamal/Biden 2016!
@ari you can’t beat the K-Man. who takes a spring break trip to st. louis anyway, amirite kamal??
@LBOT I love this guy!!!!!
@Anonymous my favorite senior wisdom to date…this is excellent
@thank you Senior wisdoms have been sooooo boring this year. My God. YOU ALL REPEAT THE SAME THINGS!
That said, I liked this one. Because although he repeated the same thing that everyone else said, he added a bit of his own. Thank you.
@Anonymous I found this one pretty boring…
@Anonymous YOU’RE boring
@Anonymous “The amount of time you will need to finish that paper/p-set/presentation you’re working on is exactly equal to how much time you have left to work on it.” SO TRUE. I need to learn to leave things to the last minute more often… Although I’ve succeeded pretty well on that for the Econ final I’m taking in less than 3 hours…
@Anon That shit was INTENSE
@Anonymous Aw, this was nice.
“2) Nobody, and I mean nobody, cares about student government except for maybe those currently involved in student government. (To the vast majority of you, this is likely obvious, but for me, this took me a while to learn)”
As someone who’s been on student government, can I just say this is so fucking true. Even I stopped caring at some point while I was in it.
@Anonymous As someone who isn’t in student government, I really don’t agree with that.
Furthermore, if nobody cared about student government, why did they all vote Kamal out? He just sounds bitter.
@Anonymous If you cared about student government, then why didn’t you run?
@Anonymous i dont know you kamal but this was legit one of the best
and 45 page paper? damn. wanna write a 10 pager for me real quick?
@a fellow classmate i was in a class with this guy. all he did was suck up to the teacher, and act like he’s too cool for school.
@funny... ’cause that describes pretty much the entire student body.
@Anonymous this “I’m that guy you see in Butler watching sports on his computer because I’m too ambitious to waste my day watching sports in my room, but too lazy to actually do any work once I’m in the library” = my life. but replace sports with sitcoms.
@Anonymous great wisdom kamal, thanks for puttin the team on yo back all day
@yo hey rohit
@wrong guess! you have two more chances to win