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THE COLLEGE CONNECTION
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
THE COLLEGE CONNECTION
of people, finding out about their experiences and seeing other
people’s resumes, it’s really like wow, there are so many more
options out there. [You can] live your life and try to do interesting
things other than just following the generic path.”
Of the VFA staffers in particular, Qiu says, “The more interesting
part is their personal story, their motivations and inspirations,
and how to plan your college life and career. We heard that some
of them, for example, went to [a big banking company] and then
quit after a year because it was boring or tedious to work in a
huge company where you’re only functional. We were surprised
to hear that, even though the name is prestigious, it’s not very
challenging or meaningful for intellectual people to work there.”
He adds that the experience opened up his and Pan’s thinking
about the future: “Should we work in those huge-name companies
or should we do something like entrepreneurship or a business
that we like, like an NGO or nonprofit It’s very inspiring.”
For Lee, who has worked for VFA for 2 ½ years, Qiu and Pan
when you are young you have to depend on alumni for opportunities,
and when you are old you offer opportunities back to
the University, which is really good. It’s a win-win effect, because
you get something and then you give back.”
Speaking with alumni about the reasons they get involved
with students underscores this idea of a community in action
— one whose members help each other in the ways
that they can, when they can, and also enjoy that sense
of building and belonging to something greater than themselves.
“Above all else Columbia is a community of people. Through
our interactions with one another, we have created a unique opportunity
for students and alumni to learn, grow and pursue knowledge
throughout our lives,” says Kyra Tirana Barry ’87, president
of the CCAA. “Students benefit from the wisdom and guidance
alumni provide, while alumni are enriched and energized by the
new ideas, enthusiasm and talents that students bring to the table.
necessarily in the arts but they were certainly life mentors, which
was really important.”
Rick Wolf ’86, in concert with the Alumni Office, began a tradition
of alumni-hosted Thanksgiving dinners for students who
can’t make it home for the holiday. “Part of what drove me is
that I had almost no relationships with alumni as a student,” says
Wolf, who invited students to his Scarsdale, N.Y., home for several
years. “It’s an attempt to contribute to building a community
and helping these students see that when they get out, they’re
part of a larger community of alumni and that they should be
contributing the same way.”
Brett Bernstein ’84, who also has hosted the dinner, says, “Giving
money for some people is easy, and for others it’s a stretch. This
is another way of giving support that’s meaningful. Hopefully
it makes students feel good and comfortable and that Columbia
truly is more of a community.”
Both spoke to the fun of meeting such a diverse group of stu-
the various questions I thought about as a student.”
He adds, “As I think about the greatest inflection points of my
life, there’s normally someone from the Columbia alumni world
who came before me who has mentored me or provided me with
transformational advice and altered my perspective on things in
a way that I hadn’t thought possible.”
Betanabhatla cites his relationship with Adam Beshara ’96,
’04 Business as an example. The two met when Betanabhatla was
a junior and Beshara was leading JP Morgan’s investment banking
recruitment effort on campus. Beshara became Betanabhatla’s
main point of alumni contact both during recruitment and after
graduation, once he started with the company.
“On the career end, those first few years are challenging from
a physical, mental and emotional standpoint, in terms of hanging
in,” Betanabhatla says. “There was comfort in having a Columbia
alum at the bank who knew what I was doing there,
who knew what I was going through, who could be there with
Janet Lorin ’95, ’96J hosted a panel on journalism at Bloomberg headquarters in Midtown on April 4 that featured (left to right) Nick Summers
’05, Jared Sandberg ’90, John Brecher ’73 and Robert Friedman ’69, ’71 GSAS.
PHOTO: PETER FOLEY
Li Lu ’96, ’96L, ’96 Business, an investment banker who is the founder and chairman of Himalaya Capital Management, spoke with students
at a CSA Talks event on March 28.
PHOTO: KATHERINE CUTLER
had just the experience she was hoping for. “I thought I only had
four options coming out of school,” she says. “It was either investment
banking, consulting, law or medicine. And so I went
into consulting … [I liked] the idea of being able to expose two
freshmen to something other than that, and the idea of trying to
make an impact on somebody.”
The students also spoke to the value of connecting with Lee
herself.
“We can relate on a lot of different levels even though she
graduated 10 years before,” Pan says. “She was asking us, ‘Do
you go to these restaurants, these places’ and I said, ‘Yeah, I do!’
She’s been really helpful and down to earth. Before, I would have
been hesitant to reach out to people, but now it’s given me a different
perspective on how they’re just willing to be there.”
Qiu adds, “I’m from China and in Chinese universities people
don’t have a very strong connection with alumni. Here we have
an Alumni Center and it’s a very dynamic relationship, because
Alumni are able to share in students’ journeys — once again experiencing
intellectual wonders and professional pursuits, while
enjoying the growing stature of a Columbia College degree.”
Jerry Sherwin ’55, who is among the College’s most active
alumni, echoes the sentiment: “Participating in student-alumni
programs has made for the most rewarding experiences I have
been involved with over the past many years. It has made me feel
like I have never left the school.”
Pietropinto-Kitt, who as a senior was the student representative
on the Board of Directors of the CCAA, recalls the value of her own
early experiences with alumni. “It certainly was a direct connection
with what the alumni community was after graduation, which I
found very comforting, because I didn’t want to leave. I was so
happy here. It was a very nice bridge for me to see that there was
this big network, and I relied on people like Jerry Sherwin and
Brian Krisberg [’81, ’84L] and Lisa Landau [Carnoy ’89], all of these
alumni who were just always there to give advice. They weren’t
dents. “Some of them are quite inspiring as to how they got to college
and what they’ve overcome,” says Wolf. “They’re a uniquely
impressive bunch of students — all very
intelligent, very driven, much more poised
than I was at that age — by miles.” He
laughs. “It’s nice to see who’s at the College
these days and to feel that connection to the
school when you host.”
Betanabhatla, who has met with a
number of students in addition to Nayar,
says that alumni-student relationships are
among the things he valued most when he
was a student as well as now, as an alumnus:
“I love being part of the Columbia
family — getting to know students and
learn about their interests and I hope, in
some way, be helpful as they think about
Get Involved
n For information about interviewing prospective
students through the Alumni Representative
Committee, go to undergrad.admissions.
columbia.edu/alumni/resources.
n To help students with career preparation or
to sponsor an internship or externship, go
to careereducation.columbia.edu/alumni/
opportunities.
n To find out about Columbia College Women
and other student-alumni programs, go to
college.columbia.edu/alumni/getinvolved.
advice and point me in the right direction. I talk to him to this
day about career choices.”
Betanabhatla adds that when his
older brother passed away in 2008,
“Adam was there to say, ‘I understand
you’re an ambitious kid but there are
some things that are more important
than your job.’ He talked to me about
balance and family. He said you have to
do these things. He understood who I
was and the parts of Columbia that had
shaped me and were in me. He was just
a great mentor — personally and professionally.”
Alexis Tonti ’11 Arts is CCT’s managing
editor.
SUMMER 2013
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SUMMER 2013
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