1. What study abroad experience were you in?

I participated in the Colgate London Economics Study Group Fall 2016 led by Professor Kay Pollock and Professor Ted Hyett.

2. What was the highlight of your study abroad experience?

The highlight of my study abroad experience was definitely having the opportunity to travel to other parts of Europe like Italy, Ireland, and Scotland. In addition, it was great getting to know my group and Professors Pollock and Hyett over the course of the semester.

3. What type of activities did you do while being abroad?

We definitely did a lot of different activities, but one that really stuck out to me was the weekly theatre show component built into our London theater class. Some of my favorites were Amadeus, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Yerma.

4. What type of classes did you take?

Three out of the four classes we took were economics classes like British Economy, Economics of EU, and European Economic Issues. What really set the curriculum apart from the one at Colgate was that it had different visiting professors and professionals lecturing on various topics from healthcare to monetary policy.

5. What advice would you give to someone who may want to go abroad in the upcoming year?

I would say that students considering studying abroad should be thoughtful about what they want to gain out of their abroad experience by setting goals that strike a balance between the social and academic. You will most likely have another opportunity to travel at some point in your life, but the degree to which you get the freedom to simultaneously have fun while making constructive mistakes will definitely be hard to come by.

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1. How did you get involved in comedy?

I got academically dismissed after my junior year (spring 2015) for not handing in two final papers (no logical explanation, I just didn’t feel like doing academic work anymore), so I had to spend a year away. I was always into stand up, so being from NYC, I took the opportunity to dive into it. I took stand-up classes in the fall of 2015, started going to open mics, and just gradually made friends with a lot of comedians in the City.

2. What was academic dismissal like for you?

For me personally, academic dismissal was beneficial because it gave me the opportunity to realize how much I loved comedy and that I wanted to work in the field. Additionally, it gave me time to really understand what my life could be like if I didn’t graduate. Aside from doing stand up, I spent the year as a waiter in a restaurant. While I made good friends there, I knew that that wasn’t something I wanted to be doing long term. Consequently, I guess I’ve just taken my future a bit more seriously. I understand a bit more now that simply being accepted into Colgate isn’t the end of the road. You have to continue to work.

3. Any advice for students who may be going through similar feelings?

As for advice for not being dismissed, that’s tough. Most people accepted into Colgate have the potential to succeed. So when someone is on the verge of being dismissed, I feel like there could be various factors going into it. For me, it was laziness plain and simple. And I’m still pretty lazy, I just try a bit more academically I guess. For some, it takes dismissal to really put things into perspective. My advice for someone dismissed would just be to figure out what went wrong and understand that it’s not the end of the road. Keep working, keep trying. The opportunity to go to a school like Colgate doesn’t come to everyone, so you don’t want to take it for granted. Pretty generic advice, but that’s what I’d say.

4. How do you see comedy being used as a way of advocating/ educating others?

Most race-centered comedy is done problematically in my opinion, honestly. There are comedians that use race in their comedy in more positive ways. Trevor Noah is one example. He has this bit on colonialism on Youtube I highly recommend watching; it’s hilarious. Another comedian who’s great at using comedy as a way to promote political and social critical thought is someone we’re planning on bringing to Colgate at the end of the semester. The contracts aren’t signed yet though, so I can’t say who just yet.

5. Do you have any goals involving comedy either at Colgate or post-Colgate?

At Colgate, I just want to keep Colgate Stand Up progressing. For a club only in its second semester, we’ve been pretty successful so far. My goal is just to keep that up. One exciting show we’re planning that I’ll mention now is that we’re doing an all-women lineup on February 25th, hosted by Sydney Schultz ’19. I think that will be dope. Obviously, stand up is so male-dominated, having an all-women lineup should be refreshing.

After Colgate I definitely want to work in comedy in some capacity. I’d love to write for a TV show like Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Daily Show, or Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. Shows that use comedy to convey progressive political and social messages. Besides writing jobs, other goals are to just keep improving with stand up, and start producing my own shows in the City, just like we’re doing here at Colgate.

JT also encourages everyone interested in trying stand-up comedy on campus to reach out to him, and he recommends that people like the Facebook page for videos and photos from all comedy events facebook.com/colgatestandup.

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1. What study abroad experience were you in?

I was a part of the Colgate London Economics Study Group.

2. What was the highlight of your study abroad experience?

While I was abroad, I took a trip to Athens, Greece on my own for four days. It was my first time traveling (and organizing) a trip on my own, and it happened to be a place I’d wanted to visit since I was a kid. I got to see all sorts of historical sites and spent a lot of my time at the Akropolis, old temples, and museums. The whole trip was amazing, and the fact that I did it on my own is something that I deeply value.

3. What type of activities did you do while being abroad?

I visited local Gurdwaras (Sikh temples), went to markets with my friends, attended weekly plays, and traveled to various cities.

Harpreet in England

4. What type of classes did you take?

I took one theater course and three economics courses (The British Economy, Economics of the European Union, and Global Economic Issues). We had terrific guest lecturers for our economics classes. For the theater course, we had the amazing opportunity to attend various plays throughout London while learning about the history of London’s theater scene.

5. What was the biggest surprise to you about being abroad?

I was surprised by the extent of my independence and my ability to settle into a more natural way of my life in another country. It was surprisingly easy to get used to!

6. What advice would you give to someone who may want to go abroad in the upcoming year?

Do things that challenge you, even scare you a bit (within reason, of course). Take trips on your own, try to immerse yourself into the place you are visiting. If you’re on a Colgate study group, it is easy to latch onto the group and avoid interacting with the people who live in the place you have a chance to visit. That’s a huge disservice to yourself!

Also, appreciate the chance to travel and be open-minded about the places you will see and the people you’ll meet. Not everyone has the privilege to travel, and the fact that you are able to go to another country and call it home for a semester means a lot! Studying abroad isn’t a break from life- meaning it’s going to have the regular ups and downs you might experience during your average semester at Colgate. It may not be all sunshine all the time, but it will be something memorable.

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