Jake reminds us to always be silly!

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Jake Torres, SEAS ‘25, Computer Science, Broomfield, Colorado / Boynton Beach, Florida.

Claim to fame: Computer Science fish guy—I taught many people as an Advanced Programming, Operating Systems and Intro to Python TA. I was also President of the Esports & Game Development clubs and started the school’s only game hackathon, LionJam in 2024 and hosted it again in 2025, initially inspired by my explosively popular game “Bro I am Literally a Fish,” Additionally “the Bwog tree guy” and “Jake from discord”. 

Where are you going? I am going to be working in San Francisco at Figma for a year as a Software Engineer and applying for PhD programs to study Creative Computing Education and eventually become a professor! 

What are three things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2029?

• BE SILLY!!! People are truly just haters sometimes and that should never stop you from being your true silly self! My time at Columbia was learning how to embrace my silliness :D 

• GET OUT OF YOUR SHELL!!! There are so many amazing activities at this school you can partake in. From being an Orientation Leader, to studying abroad, to being a sketch comedy actor or director! There are so many amazing opportunities to get involved and meet new people! Also this applies with food, there are SOOOO many amazing food spots around New York—DON’T BE A PICKY EATER (guys i know i’m a little picky but I still love so much food so let this slide) 
• There are some times you are going to face some really challenging moments. During these times it’s ok to stop working and take time for yourself. Everyone deals with grief and trauma differently and school does not have to and shouldn’t get in the way of dealing with it. 

One other note—it’s ok to be awkward, we all are, you just gotta own up to being awkward :) 

“Back in my day…” On the first or second day after moving in we faced the strongest rain storm I have seen since getting here and my friends rode the Surf and Turf Shrimp boat around campus. 

Favorite Columbia lore? Either the deceased Orgo night tradition and Columbia marching band, the stealing of the sundial ball, or the fact that we all used to have the ability to get personal websites for free :( 

What was your favorite class at Columbia? 

Observational Astronomy by Professor Schiminovich: This is truly the best class I have taken with so many personal and academic learning opportunities and an awesome trip to Arizona with the silliest and nicest professor 

Advanced Programming by Jae Woo Lee: The most transformative CS class, it really changed how I thought about and interacted with computers and Jae is an amazing teacher!

Creative Embedded Systems by Tiffany Tseng: A funny and silly class where you get to make art projects with computers :D 

Salsa Soca and Reggae by Christopher Washburne: I love Caribbean beats and learning about their rich history and connecting deeper with my culture was really special! 

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? This is easy—I lived for 18 years allergic to cheese and life won’t change that much without it. I will finally have an excuse for when someone asks why I ask for no cheese on things.

Whom would you like to thank? I’d like to thank my wonderful girlfriend Sarah Sanzebin for being the best friend through all of college, my talented roommate Lucas Lugones (pictured on left) for being my rock, my suitemates, all friends, my dogs Clifford and Homer, and my Professors Jae Woo Lee, John Hui, Kostis Kaffes, and Timothy Paine for hosting me as a TA and allowing me to help so many students and being amazing role models :D 

I’d also like to thank everyone else that has supported me on my journey to being Columbia’s silliest creative computer scientist. 

One thing to do before graduating? Studying abroad was truly an amazing experience and I highly recommend it! But otherwise go to the top of one of the buildings and enjoy the view while hanging out with friends and order 375 chicken and fries while drunk.

Any regrets? No regerts!!! (actually i regret drinking out of whoever’s cup I took a sip from that gave me mono you stink!)

Jake and his roommate Lucas via himself