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The CCRA blog is authored by Columbia undergraduate researchers, who are invited to reflect on all aspects of the research process and their own undergraduate research experiences, beginning (but not ending) with the Core.
Category Archives: postgraduation plans
Getting Down to Business on School Break
It’s 5:27 PM. Maybe your last class has just ended, or you’ve just turned in your last final. Your flight, train, bus, or subway is fast approaching, and you can’t wait to get back home so the rest and relaxation … Continue reading
Posted in postgraduation plans
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Senior Spring Reflections: The Early Days
As the Class of 2025 prepares to take on its last semester of college this spring, Rose Research Fellows Alan Chen and Janus Yuen (CC‘25) discuss how they first found their way to their programs of study and areas of … Continue reading
Posted in Faculty Mentors, major research, postgraduation plans, Senior Thesis, Study Abroad, Summer Research, The Canon, The Core, The Humanities
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FLI @ Columbia: Losing Your Mind In Seminar? Some Tips & Tricks
As the sixth week of the fall semester wraps up, I return to a feeling of frustration with my History seminars I know all too well. Despite enrolling in at least one History seminar every semester since my sophomore spring, … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, courses, Faculty Mentors, major research, postgraduation plans, Senior Thesis, Uncategorized
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Some Parting Advice
Since this is my last post on this blog, I thought it would make sense to talk about some of the principles that guided me to this point in my college career. I am graduating with a double major in … Continue reading
Posted in major research, New York City, postgraduation plans, Senior Thesis, Summer Research, The Humanities, Writing
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My Time as a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow
The semester is ending soon, and with it, my time as an undergraduate is also coming to a close. As I reflect on my college career—four years fraught with rising climate catastrophes, a global pandemic, and escalating international conflicts—I owe … Continue reading
Posted in Adversity, COVID-19, Funding, Libraries, Life, major research, postgraduation plans, The Canon, The Humanities
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Literature as an Archive
In recent years, I have wrestled with certain dilemmas historical scholarship poses. A central one is how do we contemplate, write about, and represent people who do not appear within the archive? In the past, historical scholarship have been very … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, Libraries, major research, postgraduation plans, Senior Thesis, Uncategorized
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Cognoscere Aude? Calvin and Hobbes, and Playing the Game
Periodically, I revisit Calvin and Hobbes to renew my sense of wonder. The comic strip finished its run well before my time, but in its anthologized forms it has been a touchstone for my life. Growing up in Singapore and … Continue reading
Posted in Life, major research, postgraduation plans
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What to Do During the Summer: Study Abroad
Even as a senior, I am still mildly surprised when – in January, in the thick of winter – my peers begin to talk about their applications for various summer programs. My bemusement betrays a basic thickheadedness on my part, … Continue reading
Posted in Life, New York City, Study Abroad, Summer Research, Uncategorized
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Reflections from the Archive: Stanford’s M0618 Arturo Islas Papers Collection
This winter break, as I pieced together the beginnings of my senior thesis on Arturo Islas’s novel The Rain God (1984), I stumbled upon an archival treasure trove—M0618, the “Arturo Islas Papers.” Comprising a hefty 56-box collection, M0618 chronicles four … Continue reading
Posted in Adversity, Archives, Coursework, Libraries, Life, major research, Senior Thesis, The Humanities, Uncategorized, Writing
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On The Swim Test
It’s late, a Saturday night near the end of January. I’ve signed up to take the swim test the next day in the early afternoon. I feel unsettled, anxious, even paranoid. Usually, to prepare for a test, I have some … Continue reading
Posted in Adversity, courses, Life, New York City, The Core, Uncategorized
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