Sophomore year has been
very intense so far. Similar to high school, your first year is scary so
administration, professors and staff coddle you a bit to ease the anxiety, but
sophomore year they assume you know the drill and they treat you like it.
Classes are harder, you suddenly become aware of the fact that you need to
start making concentrated steps towards completion of your major (after you
choose one if you haven't already), and your extracurriculars expect you to
step up and help set the example for the new First-Year students. That said, it
can be incredibly fun if you know how to balance your time well.
Fall 2012 Semester I
definitely overloaded my schedule and suffered because of it. I took a very
difficult course load including a graduate level music course and a 5 unit
Mandarin course and went through the struggle of having to drop some classes
for the first time. I was originally in 8 courses (granted, 4 of them were 1
unit courses but since they were music courses they take more than 1 unit's
worth of time) and was rapidly losing my mind so I had to let two courses go
which allowed me to finish the semester strong. However since I know I need to
start preparing for law school, I realized that despite the fact that I'm doing
very well, my GPA isn't strong enough for admission to top schools and it was a
good reality check.
My extracurriculars are
fantastic as always and I cannot stress the importance of them in maintaining
sanity in a rigorous academic environment. Take the time to find some really
fun things to do and build a community for yourself. My social group is made up
of fellow student-activists with similar interests and it's really nice to have
people to hang out with who care about the things you do. Also understand that
work-study is a real time commitment so make sure you budget your time
accordingly (something I wish I had started doing earlier last semester).
This semester looks to
be off to a promising start and I'm taking a slightly less demanding course
load so it's nice to have a bit more time to breathe. This semester I'm taking
a Race, Technology & Health (a history seminar focusing on the health
effects of mass-incarceration which is the area I want to write my thesis on),
Elementary Mandarin II, Contemporary Civilizations (a philosophy course that's
part of Columbia's Core Curriculum) Afro-Colombian jazz ensemble, a traditional
jazz ensemble, and private bass instruction, and I'll let you know how it goes.
I get to declare my major in African American Studies and Jazz Studies this
semester so I'm very excited even though they're both very demanding. I also
tutor for the Double Discovery Center (DDC),
give campus tours through the Admissions Office's Undergraduate Recruitment
Committee (URC), I'm also a member
of their Multicultural Recruitment Committee (MRC), I'm on the Black History Month planning committee (BHM), and my favorite, I'm the
secretary of CU Students Against Mass Incarceration (CU SAMI). I am an active member of the Black Student's Organization
(BSO) and Sister Circle (a group for
women of color across Columbia's undergraduate and graduate schools) and I do
my work-study in the admissions office. This semester one of my goals is to
experience more of the various art forms NYC has to offer with my mother who
just moved to NYC to be closer to my sister and I.
Please don't hesitate to
contact me if you have admissions or student-life specific questions for
Columbia, or if you're in the NYC area and want to hang out! I'll be here this
summer as well and I'd be happy to meet with you.
Best of luck and I'll
talk to you soon,
Beulah Agbabiaka
