This next Senior Wisdom features Ethan Woo: the star of the Lost V126 and consummate yes-man.

Name, School, Major, Hometown:
Ethan Woo; CC; English; Los Altos, CA

Claim to fame:
Cast member in the best Varsity Show (V126) you won’t see. Was also in V124 and two XMAS! casts. Former president of Nonsequitur.

Where are you going?
On a run! To an abandoned high school. See you soon!

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2024?

  1. Be a little delusional. I had well-intentioned, knowledgeable friends tell me I would never be cast as a lead in the Varsity Show. Any rational person would have understood that they were right: someone like me with no musical theatre experience did not stand a chance in the casting process. But while it took two embarrassing failed auditions, I got there. Sometimes you will be your only advocate. That doesn’t mean your goals are impossible, just that you’ll have to work a little harder and that it might take a little longer for things to pan out the way you want them to.
  2. Go with the social flow. I didn’t find my most valued friendships and relationships until after freshman year, and it only happened once I stopped frantically searching. Social desperation is exhausting, and college kids can smell it on you the second you enter a room. You don’t have to go to that party, and you don’t have to grab a meal with that girl you have nothing in common with. Trust that you are good and worthy, and you’ll find your people soon.
  3. I’m not above anything. After freshman year, I said “yes” to every request that even remotely interested me. One time, I ended up reading a play in a church basement for an audience of three people. It was demoralizing. One time, I ended up in front of a camera on the set of an HBO show. It was sick. Unless your life path is set in stone, just go for every random opportunity that comes your way at Columbia. Occasionally, something wild will just click.

“Back in my day…”
Carman was more of a Motel 6 than a Best Western, Shake Shack was a shuttered noodle shop, Nonseq was five people, and the kind folks at Junzi were not feeding me twice a day (get the Dining Pass).

Favorite Columbia controversy?
All the theories about why Nussbaum and Wu closed.

What was your favorite class at Columbia?
Shakespeare’s Poetry with Professor James Shapiro. He’ll break down your writing and build it back up. And Acting The Musical Scene with Mana Allen and Barbara Anselmi. I was in awe of that whole experience.

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese?
Sorry, I can’t hear you! You’re breaking up! This connection is terrible.

Whom would you like to thank?
The current members of Nonseq who listened to me when they did not have to. Everyone who cast me, who let me direct something, who took a chance on me for some unfathomable reason. The professors who showed me how to fix my writing when it was energetic but incoherent. And the many unreasonably generous friends who let me talk at them when I needed to.

One thing to do before graduating:
One of the Latenite Zoom sessions. I can’t believe my final senior wish is to be on a conference call. C’est la vie.

Any regrets?
Plenty.

Photo via Ethan Woo