Jake Naimark imparts his wisdom regarding being a good neighbor, dairy products, and beyond sausages.

Name, School, Major, Hometown:
Jake Naimark; Columbia College; Environmental Science; Rye, New Hampshire

Claim to fame:
Eating the most John Jay Beyond Sausages in one sitting, with my partner in crime, Ade. Thanks William!

Where are you going?
Nowadays, I’m mostly going biking and running within the neighborhood.

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2023?

1. New York City is shy. If you’re anything like me, and you savor the wide-smiled, open-armed demeanor of your neighbors in the place you grew up, coming to New York is going to be challenging. New York is a lot more like the friend who thinks long and hard before opening up to you, evaluates your character, and lets you do the same to them in return, than the one who pours their heart out to you the first time you grab a meal. New York is full of secrets, charms, and lovable quirks. An intangible aura cloaks the city’s air and its inhabitants’ spirits, and it is one of constant aspiration for something better. But it won’t show its face to you right away. It will make you work for it. You’ll have to endure what may feel like too many unfriendly faces brushing past you, until you notice the stranger stepping up when someone really needs it. You’ll have to brave the toughness of a cold, winter wind off the Hudson, and a gray drab city scape in February, before you can see that the city’s warmth and color come from the whistle of its many languages wafting through the air, and its bursting creativity, ingenuity, and diversity. At first, New York, and in turn Columbia, can make you feel like it doesn’t want you there, like it’s not interested in being friends with you. But if you can endure its initial aloofness, if you can keep asking it questions, learning from it, and telling it more about yourself, you’ll find that New York was worth the wait. You’ll find that coming to live here may not have been the easiest choice, but it certainly was the richest. You’ll find that you’re better off for knowing it, and that it will be a lot harder to leave than you ever could have imagined.
2. It is so important to remain cognizant of the joys of learning. You might be surprised how quickly the rosy-eyed friends you met during NSOP, the ones who were eager to swallow up every morsel of information and wisdom that Columbia had to offer, become the classmates that can’t seem to get out of the rut of worrying about the score they received on their last exam, or their looming paper deadline. A university in which everyone strives for excellence can be a stressful place to be, and each person is valid in having their own challenges in the ways that they deal with that. But in enduring whatever those challenges are for you, if you can pause to appreciate the elegance of an equation you derived on your problem set, or get lost in the magnificent prose you are reading for your creative writing class, or explore an aspect of your identity that you previously didn’t pay much attention to through a new community, or get lost in the grooves of a campus performance, you will remember that not only is learning about achievement, but that it has a soul.
3. Be a considerate neighbor. I mean this both within the Columbia community, and without. Find ways to learn from and respect the diversity of the student body. But also find ways to extend yourself beyond serving only your needs within the confines of campus. Learn, grow, and work not only as an individual, but as a neighbor.

“Back in my day…” 
Columbia still fenced off its lawns, flying red flags as if warning students of danger, like a riptide warning on a beach. Oh, wait…

Favorite Columbia controversy?
To milk-shame, or not to milk-shame?

What was your favorite class at Columbia?
Art Hum really surprised me in the best of ways. I never thought of myself as a lover of visual art, neither as a viewer nor as a creator. But this class really changed that for me.

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese?
All that I will say on this one is: only one of these things was the reason I gave up on being vegan!

Whom would you like to thank?
I wouldn’t be where I am today without a family that taught me to love and value learning, and that gave me the confidence and leeway to pursue the future that I envision for myself. Thank you.

One thing to do before graduating:
Write letters to some of the people that had a big impact on my college experience. Tell them from afar what I wish we could have reminisced on together in person.

Any regrets?
Not discovering Levain cookies sooner. Also, feeling happy with the friends I already had, and letting that keep me from continuing to meet new people as college went on.