Caro says to do ALL the things—as long as they are worth your time.

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Caroline / Barnard College / Political Science & Human Rights / Rye, NY

Claim to fame: Transfer NSOP Legend, the mysterious owner of the @whichbarnumbiathingareyou Instagram account, the first person at Barnard to get tested for COVID-19 (March 9, 2020), past CPR spreadsheet maker, and the 2021 Managing Editor of Bwog.

Where are you going? Right now? To take a nap. Eventually, somewhere downtown.

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2026? 

1. Get involved. Go to free events, hunt for classes in the course catalog, and volunteer for different things. Make new friends and be open to the possibility of learning more. Who knows, you might even meet Anderson Cooper, Chef Robert Irvine, or your favorite New York Times reporter.
2. Spend your time wisely. There will always be another test, but there won’t always be another opportunity to attend a free opera/birthday party/Varsity Show/Midnight Breakfast/or other random thing. You can do well in your classes AND have a social life here. In ten years, you won’t remember the answer to that multiple choice quiz, but you will remember the friends and experiences you had at Columbia.
3. Know your worth. You were admitted here for a reason! And you deserve to be here just as much as anyone else. Keep supportive friends, use CPS/Furman/CARDS/ODS, and drop things that are not worth your energy. I wasted some time feeling inadequate because of the stress culture here—but I didn’t know till now that I never had to feel that way at all.
4. Bonus: International delivers for free.

“Back in my day…”  We went to 1020 weekly, then we stopped by JJ’s past midnight. Chef Mike did not have his own sub shop. Tents were used to go camping.

Favorite Columbia controversy? Oh god, everything is a controversy here. John Jay serving shark fins the day after sharks were declared endangered—or serving glass-flavored pie. Barnard claiming green space improves mental health and then destroying the one green space on campus. The Administration thinking they could pull a fast one on us and expand enrollment without anyone finding out.

What was your favorite class at Columbia? Any class with Dr. Lien-Hang Nguyen! I took U.S.-East Asia Relations and Vietnam in the World—both slapped. Honorable mentions go to Research Methods with Professor Miller (coding is cool!), American Presidency with Professor Lacombe, and Freedom of Speech and Press with President Bollinger (or whoever teaches it in the future).

Would you rather give up [BLANK] or cheese? I have three types of cheese in my fridge right now. Why are we still asking this question?

Whom would you like to thank? So many people!

Rachel for asking me to get lunch that first day—and McKenna for agreeing to come along not knowing what she was getting herself into.

Rebecca for making me feel light and young again. Brooke for always being there. Emma, Rachel, and Caroline for dealing with my roommate shenanigans.

Olivia Ann [REDACTED] for becoming one of my closest friends when she wasn’t even on campus. And for engaging in my hot takes—political and otherwise.

Everyone from Bwog. Lauren and Aditi for having my back as the best fellow Board members ever. Jenny for everything. Solo for encouraging me to run for Board. Julia and Rania for existing. Vic for being the best News Editor in student publication history. Lillian, MC, and Charlotte for saving my butt more times than I can count. Regan, Bannon, and Brigid for attending many Senior Nights with me. Also Youngweon, Yuki, Phoebe, Lia, Henry, Henry, Libby, Jeffrey, Daniel, Alyse, Owen, Jordan, Eva, Braner, Eunice, Maya, Shane, Sofia, Talia, Zack, and Zoe. Anyone who has ever edited my writing or let me edit theirs. Anyone who has made me laugh on the worst 2020 days. And this year’s new staffers who are giving this organization a very bright future.

The politico crew—Gabriel, Jenn, Crystal, Claire, Krishna, Blake, Chloe, Serena, Daniel, Ashley, Eleanor, and Jaelyn—and Rachel, Natalia, Sansara, and Amy for allowing me to get to know them better this year.

All of my professors and advisors, and everyone who works in Dining, specifically Claudia, Keya, and Sheree for their endless kindness.

The entire Morningside Heights community, including Tao from Hartley Pharmacy, Mona from Amsterdam Cleaners, Susan from the United States Postal Service, the nice man from the 119th stationary store, and everyone at Appletree. Also the delivery guys from International.

My family <3

One thing to do before graduating: Test out the treadmill desks in the Teachers College Library. Find the entrances to the roofs and the tunnels.

Any regrets?  I wish I learned how to sew in the Design Center. Besides that, I think I made the best use of my three years here :)

Caro via Jane Mok

The best people ever via Jane Mok