Every morning I write the Word of the Day. I spout puns endlessly. I’m in charge of organizing open mics and coffeehouses and literary magazines. To someone who doesn’t know me, I’m a humanities person. Except that I’m not. I have always had a mind for science. It’s logical, it’s provable–it’s objective and doesn’t rely on language to express what is true. I attribute my superficial humanity-ness to one person only:...

Alumna and writer Anna Quindlen says that she “majored in unafraid” at Barnard. Tell us about a time when you majored in unafraid. (100-250 words) I love adventure, travel, and exploring...as long as I’m with others. When I’m alone it feels like the great unknown could swallow me whole, leaving no trace. When I stepped into the TSA PreCheck line at the airport alone at 5 A.M. to travel to the Kitt Peak Astronomy Program, I was...

I am interested in physics, but more specifically in astronomy. I've always found stars to possess a certain kind of magic, but as I began to delve deeper into physics and astronomy I realized why I am passionate about space. I have discovered that no matter how you explain the scientific processes that occur within our universe, the splendor of gazing into the night sky never seems to fade. Unlike many other phenomena, learning the mechanism behind the magic does...

Artist Statement: People say a photo is worth a thousand words. Most don’t realize that the photographer’s job is to craft each word, decide which stories to tell, and do it within 1/250th of a second. When I take a photo, it is rarely premeditated. This spontaneity lures me to the medium - the fact that at any moment there are millions of stories to be told. I am drawn to stories that pose questions like “what’s...