Anna living her best life

Following the three wonderful CC women we featured earlier today is bold Barnard woman Anna Stoneman – who, true to her third point of advice, asked for an extension on this senior wisdom.

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Anna Stoneman, Barnard, Urban Studies/stats concentration, Albany, NY (some call it the capital in every way that matters)

Claim to fame: Acted in two somewhat space-themed student theatre plays. Also in non space-themed plays. Speaking Fellow. Unauthorized Trader Joe’s Brand Ambassador (plz hire me).

Where are you going? tbd where I’ll live, but I’m staying on the west side.

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2022?

1. You can do all the things (or a lot of them) if you really want to, but you don’t have to. There are endless options of clubs to join, classes to take and things to do but only 24 hours in the day, so you have to make choices. Try to makes the choices conscious and choose what you enjoy as much as possible.

2. Friendship can take effort. It’s easy to fall out of touch with a friend when your schedules change and you run into them less but it’s so worth going out of your way to spend time with someone you value. Text someone to make dinner plans or just to say you appreciate them.

3. Ask for extensions! You’re in school to learn and you’re probably not learning if you’re scrambling to finish all the assignments that are due on the same day. Try to ask in advance if you can; the worst thing a professor can say is no.

“Back in my day…” Barnard had a tunnel system and you could (almost) literally never go outside if you so chose.

Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: No justification needed :)

What was your favorite class at Columbia? Exploring Barcelona with Elsa Ubeda and Reacting to the Past with Kristina Milnor

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? Cheese is the #1 reason I’m not vegan

Whom would you like to thank? My wonderful parents. My incredible friends. Narcisa, Queen of 1004. Trader Joe.

One thing to do before graduating: Think about the last four years. And about The Last Five Years.

Any regrets? Semesters where I overextended myself and didn’t appreciate the really great opportunities and experiences I had.

Photo via Anna Stoneman