Timothy Reichmann

If you thought you were well-rounded, just check out Timothy Reichmann’s claim to fame.  Congratulations on your graduation tonight!

Name, Hometown, School: Timothy S. Reichmann from Chatfield, Minnesota, SEAS

Claim to fame? I’m that future Air Force pilot kid who teaches the bartending class, takes dance classes at Barnard, and majors in Applied Physics–who may have been your RA. I also go to church on Sundays.

Where are you going? I’ll be here for the summer, then a year at flight school in Oklahoma, then anywhere in the world where there’s a US Air Force base–hopefully Japan.

Three things you learned at Columbia:

1. It never hurts to be more honest about yourself to others in your college years. Sure, you may seem less “cool” temporarily but only when you let down the facade of who you pretend to be will people actually get to know you and be comfortable enough to share their real self with you. You’ll never really know who you are until you are honest with yourself and others. Sometimes the best insight on who you are comes from your harshest critics.
   
2. Art is always worth it and tends to be very inexpensive to experience. See the MoMA, both Mets, student and professional dance shows, The Frick, The Cloisters, all of Central Park, as many Broadway shows as you can go to for free, and at least half the theatre/concerts/shows your friends invite you to on Facebook. Spend time figuring out some sort of music or art that you can produce that makes you feel fulfilled. Share it with other people and encourage their talents.
3. Spending time with people is the most rewarding thing you’ll do during your time here. Frequently, it’s even worth sacrificing your grades a little to make time for the people you care about. Don’t be afraid to sacrifice comfort for money. Not only will you have more money, you’ll also be a tougher, better, person for it and less prone to feeling entitled to comfort.

Back in my day… Carman residents had to buy their own TV’s on Craigslist and then put them on stands that were chained to the wall. Wallach was just as bad as Hartley. The spiral stairs weren’t an issue because Ferris was something else. People were less aware of how stressful this place is.

Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: I’ve made more money bartending in the last year than the sum total I made in the previous 5 years.

Write a CU Admirers post to anyone or anything at Columbia: To the Class of 2013: you’re the best. I’ve known it since Prezbo told us at convocation but you’ve exceeded my expectations time and time again. You’ve made this school a place I’m proud to call my home. Whether through your attempts to beat administrators in the war on fun or your care about wellness and the stress culture that is so pervasive at Columbia. To the individuals who make up the class, I hope to work with a bunch of you in the future whether it’s in the corporate sphere or in making this school even more awesome now that we’re alumni. To the class of 2014, a bunch of you are pretty cool as well.

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? I’ve had good cheese, I’ve had bad cheese, at least some portion of that is not true of oral sex.

One thing to do before graduating: Take a road trip with your best friends from college. Leave room for spontaneity.

Live in East Campus your senior year (even if you’re a Barnard student) and throw lots of parties with your friends. It’ll ensure you have lots of memories from senior year and make lots of new friends. It’ll keep you sane and provide you with some awkward stories that’ll be hilarious to recall in a few years.

Any regrets? Nothing I would do differently in retrospect. If I knew in Fall of 2009 what I do now, I would have majored in something that wasn’t applied physics.