Sam reminds us that we are all children pretending to be adults.

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Sam Sheldon, History, (North) London

Claim to fame: Being that kid in your seminar with the most obnoxious facial expressions or asking you to phone bank for the New Hampshire Democrats.

Where are you going? Staying in NYC for the summer and then open to all suggestions.

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

  1. No one knows what they’re doing (not even your professors), like ever, despite how stacked their LinkedIn profile is. You’re going to be surrounded by some really impressive and ambitious people and that can be really inspiring but also incredibly intimidating. I definitely spent a lot of my college career doubting my own success in relation to my peers but when you get down to it, we’re all lost and that’s normal because we’re literal children pretending to be adults. 
  2. Nightline is an incredible resource if you ever need to speak to someone no questions asked. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to incorporate empathy into your life and Barnumbia is so lucky to have such a robust peer listening resource. The hours are shortened for the pandemic but hopefully next year you’ll be able to call any night from 10-3.
  3. Practice saying yes to new experiences and no to new commitments unless those commitments will bring you meaningful experiences. 

“Back in my day…” Carman was still gritty, Columbia tried to tell us that we only needed to dedicate 30 minutes per week to personal hygiene, and Nuss had the best lentil soup in Morningside Heights.

Favorite Columbia controversy? When everyone acted like Bacchanal moving to Terminal 5 was the end of the world and then the world literally ended two weeks later.

What was your favorite class at Columbia? History and Ethics of Philanthropy in America, shoutout to Tamara Tweel, a real-life mentor.

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? I’ve given Tofutti enough chances.

Whom would you like to thank? My friends for always hyping me up and my family for bringing me back down to earth. My Nightline fam. My therapist. Bwog Senior Wisdom for making me nostalgic about Columbia since I was a prefrosh. Kayla Koffler.  

One thing to do before graduating: Go to your friends’ performances, especially if, like me, you don’t have any talents of your own. Second best thing to being on stage yourself is seeing someone you love doing something really cool on stage.  

Any regrets? Not going to that Lorde concert because I had a…club meeting and not going to that Lana concert because I had to…finish reading for class.

Image via Daniella Truong