Posts Tagged ‘class of 2012’
Graduating GSers share their stories
The School of General Studies held its class day this morning on Low Plaza. You can read our news story on it here. We asked some of the graduating seniors how they feel now that it’s all over. These were some of their reactions:
Lydia Chan, psychology major, came from Singapore and attended Westchester Community College for two years before arriving at Columbia. “I wanted a good education — an excellent education.” She found the School of General Studies by chance. Now that it’s over, she says she feels “happy, tired. Tired!” Next up: grad school, right here at Teacher’s College.
Ben Wirtshafter, political science major, came to Columbia after having spent time as a professional actor in New York. “I realized I wanted to continue my education and this was the best place to do it,” he said. He came to Columbia after a friend told him about the General Studies program.
“I was really intrigued by the concept of people who’ve taken some time off from school, who’ve tried to learn another vocation or learn something outside of the academic realm, and getting to be in classes with people like that, and also being able to be around a bunch of 18- to 20-year-olds who are brilliant and genius in their own way.”
Now that it’s all over, he says he feels “Relieved. I still have to finish a paper that’s due on Wednesday.”
Kayran Abasali, sustainable development major, started her journey to Columbia from Trinidad. After she scored well on her SATs, her friends encouraged her to go to America for school. She went to FIT for two years, and then decided she wanted something different. She applied to Columbia and was accepted.
Abasali said her experience her was good, though it had it’s ups and downs. “One of the ups was realizing that I can do anything, and that I belong here. The GS deans were awesome. One of the downs was realizing that some of the professors are difficult, and very set in their ways.” Overall, she says she’s glad she came here, “minus the $180,000 debt.” Next, she says, she’s “going to take over the world.”
Are you a graduating GSer? What was your experience at Columbia like? Share it with us in the comments!
This one goes out to all the seniors I barely know
Tonight will mark the third of three senior related events in the past two weeks. I went to the last two—that is, to the first Senior Night and to the Senior Inauguration—partially because I wanted free champagne and a free shot glass (I got neither), but mostly because I felt like I should try out the whole “senior experience.”
This experience, it turns out, is quite strange.
I don’t know where you went to high school, but, for me, senior year marked the graduating class getting to know and like each other, and it saw us generally coming together.
But college isn’t like that. It can’t be. More »