The Williams Record

21 in 550

Four years of interviews with the Class of 2020

Every week, the Record interviews a student as part of its One in Two Thousand feature. Below are excerpts from all the interviews of members of the Class of 2020 from the last four years.

Mickey Babek ’20 almost got into a fight at a basketball game, almost was accidentally called “Minnie” by his professor and almost correctly translated the word “cacahuates.” (09/14/16)

Now I’m getting requests like, ‘Ay, give Mickey the aux cord so he can play that Hawaiian song.

— Mickey, on spreading the joy of “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride”

Maddy Boutet ’20 describes being on the national cycling team and growing up in Alaska. (10/26/16)

“Rain or shine, we were outside playing games, making up crazy stories and just having fun. And that definitely shaped a huge part of my love for being active and for being outside.”

— Maddy, on her childhood in Alaska

Boro Vitezovic ’20 talks about his home in Bosnia, his favorite conversation starters and his then-recent affinity for pool. (11/16/16)

“I usually ask, ‘What’s the biggest fear that you have?’ or, ‘what would be the three words that you would like for other people to describe you?’”

— Boro, on getting to know people

Baladine Pierce ’20 tells the Record why she likes history and Hitchcock and why she does not like dining hall seafood. (03/01/17)

“There is definitely a kind of solace in reaching back to what is set and what will always exist as it was but, at the same time, you can change your own perception and history.”

— Baladine, on history

Calen Firedancing ’20 has had some adventures, from being sent to detention in high school for mentioning Lady Gaga to being asked about an entry quote board on a tour. (04/12/17)

"A few people on my tour noticed and they actually had the audacity to to ask me about it, which I pretty much just ignored and had a red face for the rest of the tour. I've had some nightmares about that."

— Calen, on the quote board fiasco

Liv Carlson ’20 leads an annual 5k for charity, walked on to the basketball team and loves garlic festivals. (09/13/17)

“Last year, which is totally embarrassing, I did not do a single load of laundry at Williams.”

— Liv, on living 17 minutes away from campus

Shane Beard ’20 decided to audition for Ritmo Latino at 2 a.m. with eight hours before the audition, and his Plan F for life is to move to the desert, open a casino and then run for president. (09/20/17)

“It actually taught me a lot about nepotism — that can only go so far. You can be friends with everybody, but if you suck, you suck.”

— Shane, on his Sankofa audition

Emma Lezberg ’20 is a twin, black belt in karate and holder of a permit to keep chickens. (10/24/17)

“I had to go in front of the city council and basically give a speech on why I want to keep chickens... And then people can make a petition against it.”

— Emma, on securing a chicken permit

Ryan Rilinger ’20 talks taste buds, the band Frightened Rabbit and being a trans athlete at Williams. (02/28/18)

“Freshman year, I was much more reserved about my identity, and so that was a panicked year of me trying to quietly, privately learn the rules of the sport that everyone else around me assumed I already knew.”

— Ryan, on the transition from playing women’s to men’s lacrosse

Landon Marchant ’20 discusses serving in the military, traveling to Kuwait and adopting their dog, Malibu ’20. (04/18/18)

“I came home with what (we think) was a two-year-old dog. Bu sat on my foot and would not move, so she came home. The trainer told me, ‘Landon, you brought us a cat.’”

— Landon, on meeting Malibu

Robbie Rock ’20 ruminates on eating raw coffee beans, sewing flags and drinking 19 cups of tea in one day. (09/19/18)

“I had four duties: making sure the goats didn’t escape, taking the money from the people, placing baby goats on their backs – that was my favorite part – and, my least favorite part, picking up the goat poop.”

— Robbie, on helping to run a goat yoga program

Marshall Borrus ’20 made the most of his time at the College, lobbying Dining Services for extra peanut butter, asking President Maud S. Mandel for an early-morning Mountain Day video and creating his own listserv. (10/24/18)

“I have the fastest 200-meter race without taking a breath, or I guess, while holding my breath. There’s one other video on YouTube which contests it, but it’s this 60 maybe 70-year-old guy just trucking around the track in like a solid 50 seconds, which when you consider it, that’s a long time to hold your breath. So props to him, but I did him one better.”

— Marshall, on holding a world record

Hannah Goldstein ’20 talks about gender in the outdoor industry, conducting an oral history of the Hoosic River and her goal of being a teacher. (12/05/18)

“If I have a crush on someone, I’ll ask them on a date. And you know what, sometimes it doesn’t go very well. But it feels important to me to just go out and do it. I have a very ‘do, do, do’ personality, where if I come up with an idea, I want to execute it.”

— Hannah, on risk-taking

Megan Siedman ’20 describes being blocked on Instagram by a Kidz Bop star and having a phobia of chewing gum. She also argues that there’s something nefarious going on at Mattress Firm. (02/27/19)

“I’m kind of iffy about lizard people, but Justin Bieber could definitely be a lizard person.”

— Megan, on conspiracy theories

Belle Furman ’20, in one of the more metaphysical One in Two Thousands, rhapsodizes about over-easy eggs and roasts Record headlines. (04/17/19)

“Now this is high stress. Does anyone even read this?”

— Belle, on being interviewed for the Record

Grace Murray ’20 talks tricycles and wanting to wear glasses. (09/18/19)

“I live in Poker F with some great friends; I also have some friends living in Spencer House. But I feel most at home in the psychology department, which seems kind of silly.”

— Grace, on her “extended family” at the College

Oliver Yang ’20 accidentally exploded sand as a chemistry TA and found purpose from a five-minute TED Talk (watched on 2x speed). (09/25/19)

“It reminds me of something my dad told me, a story about how every star represents an ancestor. I remember being skeptical, like, ‘Yeah, Dad, I can’t see anything. Where are my ancestors?’ [Laughs.] You come here, and you see all the stars, and it really gives you the sense that some presence is staring down at you and taking care of you.”

— Oliver, on the reflecting pool at the Clark

Larissa Silva ’20 ruminates on dog adoptions and belly-button piercings. (10/23/19)

“I strongly believe that we should be allowed to have pets on campus more leniently. It’s always nice to come home to someone who is happy to see you.”

— Larissa, on the College’s animal policy

Dominique Burgess ’20 discusses buying crystal for Bloomingdale’s, finding community through Sankofa and leaving campus. (04/08/20)

“In an alternate life, or maybe in this life, I will own a restaurant. It’s a passion of mine, and I actually considered going to culinary school in my mind.”

— Dominique, on cooking in quarantine

Danny Jin ’20 and Nicholas Goldrosen ’20, the Record’s editors-in-chief in 2019, reflect on their tenures as student journalists. (05/13/20)

“I remember, in Winter Study of my first year, one of my entry mates just said, ‘Hey, let’s apply for this thing.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ I had nothing else to work on, so I did this application.”

— Danny, on applying for the Record board

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