Sam claims to be a Carlton Arms apologist and a Dunkin lover in this Senior Wisdom.

Name, School, Major, Hometown: sam, cc, poetry, gallatin ny

Claim to fame: blue hair and pronouns, carlton arms apologist, author of a few silly poems in quarto and 4×4

Where are you going? dunkin <3

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

1. be brave! this is very hard obviously but as you push yourself out of your comfort zone and embrace failure you will be continually astounded by how much you’ll grow from your hometown/high school self. this is also your invitation to tell your crush or friend crush your feelings it’s not that scary!!!
2. set boundaries and communicate your needs! if you know in your gut you are uncomfortable with how a friend/club/anyone is treating you, it is totally okay and actually kind of necessary to vocalize this and do what you need to do to feel safe and respected. it can be very scary and painful sometimes but you deserve relationships that are mutually fulfilling and loving!
3. work at a farmer’s market! columbia is a deeply cursed environment that can warp your sense of reality and working outside once a week in a space where you’re forced to interact with complete strangers and cool farmers is a great way to reset your brain and make new friends. also you can get lots of free food :P

“Back in my day…” SOPHIE performance <3333 xi’an famous foods in walking distance <333

Favorite Columbia controversy? nutellagate

What was your favorite class at Columbia? senior poetry workshop with timothy donnelly, witness record document with deborah paredez, and history and practice of electronic music with seth cluett. the music and creative writing faculty are the best!

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? i would simply pass away. delete this question NOW

Whom would you like to thank? everyone i’ve had poetry workshops with, professor brian wiora for convincing me to change my major, professor timothy donnelly for the most generous and validating critiques of my life, my freshman year roommate, uptown stories and my delightful and genius little students, broadway bagel, riverside park, fort tryon park, socrates sculpture park, astoria park, st. nicholas park, my lovely old and new friends, my households, daisy and fern, and my parents, jules, and lucas of course!! thank you for everything :*

One thing to do before graduating: go to your friends’ events!!!!

Any regrets? lol of course! but everything is a learning experience :)

Portrait via Sam