Winsome’s senior wisdom includes dealing with rejection and trying every food truck near campus.

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Winsome Ching, Barnard College, Economics, it’s complicated but short answer is Singapore

Claim to fame: That commuter who stays on campus way too late

Where are you going? I’m going to midtown!

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2025?

  1. Try out as many new things as you’re comfortable with. As a transfer, I kind of felt this urgency to “catch-up” so I signed up for almost all the clubs and applied to too many on-campus jobs. I ended up joining things that I wasn’t genuinely interested in, but taking this enthusiasm a few notches down, which I did in my last two years, served me better. I expanded my sphere of interests and skills, while meeting people high-school-me wouldn’t have met. This is a good segue way to…
  2. Get ready to experience rejection but don’t take it personally. I have received more rejections than acceptances, and while rejections do suck, you should not take any of the no’s to heart and just redirect your efforts onto something else. At the end of the day, it’s their loss for not having you (or so I tell myself). I would advise to instead further improve yourself and also celebrate the places that do want you.
  3. The fastest way from 96th to Times Square (and vice versa) is to take 2 or 3 if it’s coming in <5 minutes, but take the 1 if otherwise.

“Back in my day…” Barnard Dad caps were pulled from the store

Favorite Columbia controversy? It’s somewhere on Columbia Confessions (the facebook one, not instagram)

What was your favorite class at Columbia? Sunil Gulati’s Principles of Economics (so mainstream, I know). Besides that, any class taught by Hyunkyu Yi and Homa Zarghamee; they’re great at teaching the material, but also just great people overall and teachers that I will miss.

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? If I put it quite plainly, Spotify wrapped said my top song of 2020 was 34+35.

Whom would you like to thank?
To Julienne: How many seasons have we been together? Thanks for being the best human being ever with the most wicked sense of humor and the patience to my bullshit.
To my parents: thanks for the love and support you give. We don’t always see eye-to-eye on things, but I know you’ll always have my back (and I will always have yours too).
To Roberta: thanks for the nomination and being a big part of my snapchats and train rides on the 7. You made all my boring classes fun, and fun classes even more so. ;)
To Mahnoor, Hawa, Daniela, Caroline, Raeedah, and folks at Commuter Lounge: thank you for the chat between classes and the mess arounds in the lounge; you made Barnard feel like home
To Andrew, Frida, and Imani: thank you for making my college experience start off amazingly and all the adventures throughout; you make me feel special.
To Leslie: we somehow became better friends after you graduated, so thank you for being the Lauren to my Cameron. You enable my simping and for that I have to stan you.
Before this gets too long, I lastly want to thank my bosses, best TAs I’ve had, staff at Diana, and my therapists

One thing to do before graduating: Walk the whole length of Central Park during Fall, try out all food trucks near campus, and get those free shirts given out for Tree Lighting.

Any regrets? Not getting those free shirts given out for Tree Lighting