This Senior has mastered the perfect water-to-caffeine ratio.

Name, School, Major, Hometown:
Claire Fry, Columbia College, Drama and Theatre Arts, San Francisco, CA

Claim to fame:
I got the Barnard Theatre Department to stop making all the students audition in front of each other.

Where are you going?
The Good Place because I don’t eat meat ;)

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2024?

  1. Drink twice as much water as caffeine when pulling all-nighters––you will be able to recover so much better if you’re hydrated.
  2. I wouldn’t have been on track to graduate without the Office of Disability Services. Did you know that you can register anxiety and depression as disabilities? Neither did I until I had a panic attack during the FroSci final and my teacher forced me to register!! They helped me make my schedule each semester to minimize stress, they helped me plan out writing my papers, they got me paper extensions and extra time on exams….. even in quarantine they call me every week for like 20 minutes to check on me… I swear to god don’t sleep on this resource.
  3. When one door closes another one opens––but you have to be proactive and find that other door. A cappella rejected you? Go try out for a play. Didn’t make the club sports team? Try a dance group. You have to go find people! That campus is unbelievably isolating. You can go weeks without spending any quality time with people and I’ve spent more than my fair share of time feeling alone. You must must must commit to something that connects you to people and then force yourself to actually show up to that commitment.

“Back in my day…” 
You could actually go dancing at Cannons (now Hot Pot). The Barnard Library was a decrepit old building. The credit limit was 22. There was only one Joe Coffee on campus. We didn’t know who Timothee Chalamet was.

Favorite Columbia controversy?
When that GS guy got stuck in the EC air vents.

What was your favorite class at Columbia?
Drama, Theatre, Theory with Austin Quigley.
This man was the Dean of Columbia College for over a decade and comes out of retirement to teach seminars on his favorite plays. HOly coW this class made me excited to learn.

–or––

Global Theatre Traditions with Shayoni Mitra.
Counts for a Global Core requirement!!! You learn about different types of theatre and then experts come in and teach workshops so it’s very participatory.

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese?
I am lactose intolerant but I would still give up oral sex.

Whom would you like to thank?
My parents for not caring about my GPA. My Carman 1301 suitemates for being my first friends. My subsequent roommates for putting up with me. Latenite for being the best, most welcoming community. ODS. W. B. Worthen. My grandparents. My lineage. My grandparents’ dogs. Ritalin. Acrylic nails. Oat milk. The Pomodoro Technique.

One thing to do before graduating:
Go see Latenite. Participate in Latenite. Write for Latenite. Be Latenite.

Any regrets?
Quitting Vivace. Living in Harmony Hall. Not doing stand-up at Memento Mori. Not spending more time with my friends before our senior spring was ripped from us. :(

Claire Fry via Claire