My GS Story

"During my time as a Marine, I evolved into someone that was well disciplined and ready to meet any challenges that lay ahead of me. This was extremely helpful during my first few semesters at Columbia, but when I started studying the sciences, I found I needed some help grasping the material and strengthening my study skills. I took advantage of the many resources available to students such as free tutoring sessions for classes such as calculus and chemistry. What I found was that the most significant amount of help came from the faculty."

“I joined the police force to serve my community and, after I was wounded in the line of duty, I wanted to continue to serve. I chose GS and moved to New York because I really feel that, if you want to be your best, you have to be taught by the best. That’s what Columbia offers: the chance to realize my potential.”

"As a kid, when my mom Fannie Mae went to church in the evenings, I spent my time repairing neighbors' knob-less black and white TVs needing antennas or their faulty light switches that sparked when flipped. My motto became "I fix things." These inner-city survival skills led to a career in the construction industry, yet I knew I had more to give to the world. As a student in GS's Program for Academic Leadership and Service, I am getting the education to fix things on a different level - one that allows me to pursue my dream of cultivating a positive environment for underprivileged youth through my ultimate goal of building an educational institution where their dreams can be realized."

"Eager to further my education, I applied to GS because I could not imagine myself studying anywhere else and began in the spring of 2006, attending part time. Three years later, I took some time off as my husband and I welcomed our first child into the world."

"I may not look like a typical college student, but on this campus I feel like one, even though I have three college-aged sons. They are proud that I’ve gone back to school, and their support helps keep me focused. My goal is to major in American History and possibly teach high school. I am thankful to be here, and I look forward to each and every one of my classes. If I had a wish list, I couldn’t add to it."

"I love Seneca's letters because they're written in the spirit in which I was educated in my family—not to look for fame and fortune, but to have a simple, honest, honorable life." 

"At GS I encountered professors and mentors who were keen and honest observers of the world they inhabit. I attended classes with an amazing variety of people, all of whom have enriched my life and my worldview. I’m also grateful to have been able to share my culture and my passion with our campus community by organizing a concert, with the help of the Heyman Center for Humanities, by Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan, one of the foremost exponents of South Asian classical music."

“I am guided by the African principle Sankofa, which means to return to the past in order to build for the future. Thus, I have decided to study at Columbia for the purpose of building a future for our mis-educated children whose minds have been annihilated by violence.”

"The instructors here, who are in many cases the leaders of their respective disciplines, set high standards for students, and I'm pleased to find they challenge my way of thinking: Be it Professor Pederson's discussion on the dilemma on ethics of post WW II British immigration laws or Dr. Mowshowitz's lecture on the use of viruses in genetic engineering. The administrators are easily reached for professional advice on anything from applying to a medical school to choosing a volunteer program. In this demanding and fast-paced atmosphere my classmates become a major part of my daily social support-system and together we even contribute to the neighborhood of Morningside Heights: Be it a Thanksgiving dinner at a fellow GS student's apartment or an AIDS awareness fair for the local community. I'm very happy about where I am nowadays."

“When I was training as a synchronized swimmer, I was in the pool too early to watch the morning news, and after a 10-hour day of training, I was too exhausted to do anything but fall asleep. I felt pretty out of touch with the world outside of swimming. After competing in the Olympics, I wanted to see what other challenges awaited me, so I applied to GS. It’s comforting that I’m not the only person who took an alternate path to follow an extraordinary dream. Now, I’m working toward the next one. And the nice difference between academics and synchronized swimming—when I study, I don’t have to hold my breath.”

"I’ve always enjoyed studying politics, so majoring in political science seemed like excellent preparation for a career in law enforcement. But I’ve also enjoyed sampling some of the other disciplines at Columbia—for example, the Chinese Summer Language Program in Beijing was truly an exceptional opportunity. I’ve participated in student government and, although it was occasionally difficult to manage my responsibilities with my studies and outside obligations, the depth that they’ve added to my overall academic experience has been invaluable.

My favorite Columbia moment took place on the last day of my favorite class, “Challenges of Sustainable Development,” when Professor Jeffrey Sachs quoted the words of John F. Kennedy: “And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet” In that moment I realized Professor Sachs, over the course of the semester, had given me the tools to become a better member of our human family. For that, I was and am, most grateful."

"GS students enliven and enrich my courses. It is great to have people who have studied and worked as artists, accountants, publishers, historians, entrepreneurs, and chefs in a science class. They bring many different perspectives from their wide ranging life and work experiences, and through their perspectives I see my course material in new and insightful ways. They are smart, determined, energetic, competitive, and questioning. They demand a lot of themselves and of me. They challenge me and I challenge them. I try my best to respond and I know they do too. We are all better because of that."

"When I was 14, I played the lead in my high school’s production of Bye Bye Birdie—I wore a gold lamé suit, and all the girls loved me. That’s when I fell in love with acting. I studied at Bennington College and then came to New York to professionally pursue my craft while working a day job in the diamond district. After six years, although acting and diamonds were both rewarding, I realized that I wanted something more, which I hadn’t found yet. That’s why I decided to go back to school—right now I’m studying developmental psychology and interning at Columbia-Presbyterian in the same field. I plan to attend business school after earning my bachelor’s degree and look forward to combining what I’ve learned from diamonds and acting with my studies in psychology to create a meaningful career that I can be proud of."