Your people are going to find you one way or another.

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Sophie Simons; Barnard College; English & Theatre; Philadelphia, PA

Claim to fame: Being the one who sends you all those “start-of-semester” theatre-related emails, oldest
student at Barnard College, GMT P.A. Coordinator, tapped to be Millie the Bear but sadly declined the offer, and I’ve been known to throw down at a Latenite party

Where are you going? Home to my 5-bed in Washington Heights! Living in community <3

What are three things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2030?

1. Figure out what elements of school you want to prioritize (within reason), and work with those goals in mind. I’ve can’t say I haven’t skipped a class or two to pursue a passion project but I sure can say I’ve never regretted it :0
2. Your people are going to find you one way or another. Don’t stick with people who don’t want to (or deserve) to be stuck with.
3. It’s okay to take the time you need to become a better version of yourself. I never imagined I would have to take a full year off school and graduate after almost all of my friends, but I can honestly say it was the best decision I ever made and I returned to campus ready to make the best of the rest of my time here. Do what you gotta do!

“Back in my day…” It was the year of science, there was a Barnard sex ban, gates were open, campus was on fire like all the time, theatre clubs had CUPAL reps, and Bacchanal was at Terminal 5.

Favorite Columbia lore? KCST didn’t have access to a P-card until like last year because back in the day there was an intense money laundering scandal and they got caught. Rip.

What was your favorite class at Columbia? Shakespeare in America with James Shapiro, Scenic Design with Sandra Goldmark, US Lesbian and Gay History with George Chauncey, Playwrighting Workshop with Andy Bragen, and anything with Patricia Denison!

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? I love cheese. Cheese is my favorite thing in the world. There are so many good kinds of cheese. At first I was kinda nervous to try cheese. I didn’t know if I’d like it as much as I wanted to, or if I’d be as good at engaging with it, but the thing about cheese is that the possibilities are really endless. I’ve had some pretty mind-blowing cheese, especially in college. And what’s great about cheese is that it’s pretty all encompassing. You can have some, you can give it away. You can eat it in group. I think in my dream world, I’d want to have cheese every night.

Whom would you like to thank? Miranda, Mia, Mimi, Jonah, Is, Stella, Beau, Shea, Isabel, Nina & Julia, Jared, Allie, Lhana, Noah, Mike & Greg, my advisors, Jane, and so many more people that I couldn’t possible name them all!

One thing to do before graduating? In fact I already have my degree so I’ve missed the opportunity to do anything before graduating. However, I can be seen on campus using all my printing dollars and getting all the free stuff from senior events while I still have access ;)

Any regrets? Not putting water in my sophomore year borg. And, like, a bunch more, but…🤫🤫🤫.

Sophie via Sophie