Shoutout to the arts!

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Ruby, Barnard, Education Studies & Music, Mamaroneck NY. 

Claim to fame: Music directing a BUNCH of shows on campus (notably Redacted, Fun Home, V131), playing piano in lobbies, Quizbowl bad room (iykyk). 

Where are you going? The lucrative and high-paying world of professional music directing, or teaching! 

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

1. No one is too cool for you (and you’re not too cool for anyone). Just talk to people!

2. Thank everyone for everything, ESPECIALLY campus staff (dining, theater techs, custodial). They are criminally underappreciated. 

3. Get the mango and raspberry MIXED in your Heights frozen marg. 

“Back in my day…” Mel’s, Peet’s in Milstein, people actually made out at Latenite parties, the Chastity Gates were sometimes open. 

Favorite Columbia lore? Columbia students used to get banned from Barnard’s campus during the Greek Games.

What was your favorite class at Columbia? This is so hard BUT Educational Foundations, Conducting Music, Gender and Sexuality in Schools, Collegium Musicum, Magic & Monsters in Yiddish Lit.

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? Oral sex. This is not a difficult question. 

Whom would you like to thank? The company of the 131st Annual Varsity Show, The company of CMTS Fun Home, the company of Redacted, OKR, Terry Foley, Grace McCormick, Nina Kapstein, Olivia Mendez, the 2025 Education Studies seniors, 616 Access Attendants Tiana and Elise, anyone who has ever tuned a piano at this school, and, of course, everyone I forgot. 

One thing to do before graduating? Have a long chat with friends over dinner at Happy Hot Hunan. 

Any regrets? Countless but also none. It’s complicated.

Header via Olivia Kuan-Romano