Time flies by.

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Nicole Cisneros Gonzalez, Barnard College, Neuroscience & Behavior

Claim to fame: Known for my neat computer handwriting that makes every note look like it was typed… but wasn’t.

Where are you going? I’ll be working at Weill Cornell Medicine, and also volunteering at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. After that medical school (fingers crossed).

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

1. A 42 on a STEM exam is not always the end of the world. Sometimes it is somehow a B-.
2. “I’ll start early this time” is a beautiful lie we all tell ourselves every semester.
3. The emotional support you receive from one singular friend during finals week can carry you through an entire semester.

“Back in my day…” The gates were actually open, and I was just starting freshman year thinking four years was basically a lifetime… and somehow it still flew by in what felt like five minutes and a Butler all-nighter.

What was your favorite class at Columbia? Jazz with Professor Washburne or any class with E’mett McCaskill!

Whom would you like to thank? Shoutout to my friends for turning academic chaos into group therapy sessions. Thank you to every roommate, Butler study partner, and “we got this” text at 3 am. Thank you to my mom for everything.

One thing to do before graduating? Senior sunrise.

Any regrets? I wish I had known just how fast four years would pass. I would’ve slowed down more, said yes a little more often, and been more intentional about the small moments with the people I love.

Nicole via Nicole