Flower power

Dana Kim is all about cheese pizza and respecting her professors. Check out her senior wisdom!

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Yoobeen (Dana) Kim, General Studies, Economics/History, Busan, S. Korea

Claim to fame: Chief of Finance on GSSC and numerous arguments within council about funding this or that. S/o to Bwog’s Jennie and Romane for faithfully sitting through all the long meetings!

Where are you going? Squatting in my NYC apartment for as long as my visa will allow me. JK. Continuing research for a professor in the Economics department, and working for a documentary on Korean diaspora in Latin America.

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2021?
1)  GSers are much cooler people than I ever imagined. Being a more “traditional” student in that I only took a gap year between my freshman year at the unfortunate institution downtown named New York University, before transferring to GS, I approached many of my fellow GSers with much prejudice. It didn’t take me long to learn that they are just as brilliant as all other undergrads of Columbia and bring in a vibrancy like none other to our community. It was such a meaningful and gratifying experience serving the GS community this semester and learning about how rich our community is.

2) Your professors are human, too. This can swing both ways. I’ve seen people way too intimidated by their professors and never talk to them. They actually love to talk to you and are totally understanding – remember that they were undergrads once, too. I’ve gotten out of a near plagiarism case by proactively discussing with the professor, I’ve had professors essentially write my term paper for me, and I’ve also had professors who have inspired me to focus on a certain field by their sheer genius. However, also expect their respect, only if you respect them enough. I’ve seen some students be borderline rude to professors or constantly expect them to give them lenient deadlines. There’s a certain level of respect that you need to have for them to maintain a good and healthy learning environment, and sometimes it is sad that not everyone thinks so.

3) Don’t sell your soul to finance. Don’t turn to the dark side.

“Back in my day…” There were no bougie salad places around (looking at you Sweetgreen)

Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: We all exist. Just embrace it.

What was your favorite class at Columbia? Latin American Civ I with Prof. Pizzigoni and Economic Growth& Development with Xavier.

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? What’s a slice of pizza without cheese? Oral sex!

One thing to do before graduating Have yet to break a bottle on Low steps

Any regrets? Not getting involved earlier than my senior year