Life as a Cohort Representative (and as a cookie monster)

So I generally like to make wherever I am into my home. At SOM, this is an incredibly easy thing to do. From Orientation to now, the amount of activities and clubs and social opportunities are just astounding, not to mention the joy of attending class with my diverse and dedicated cohort. I am privileged to have been elected as the Gold Cohort Representative and this role gives me many leadership opportunities plus a heavy dose of joy.

As part of first year is the Core, where you get to know everyone in your cohort very well, we cohort reps organize ‘Cohort Cup’ activities to allow for a little bit of healthy competition and a chance to see our classmates from other cohorts more. The latest event we organized was called Cookie Monster. One person from each cohort had 15 double chocolate Milano cookies and the first to finish gets 100 points for their cohort with second place getting 50 points for their cohort. The picture includes myself, Ari Bildner from Silver, Noah Aptekar from Green, and Jake Berman from Blue. The winner was Noah and I came second. The best thing about the whole event? How many people came alongto support the four of us. Cheers and encouragement were screamed out to us as we gobbled up the cookies (I’d say biscuits but that’s because it’s what the Brits would call it!).

But what’s it all about? It’s not just about the cookies, it’s about getting together as a class, a school, a community and making memories. We’ve done pumpkin carving in the courtyard, a tug of war in East Rock Park, a Cohort Color Party (think lots of color, lots of people, lots of fun), Dizzy Bat which is incredibly dizzying and produces some hilarious videos in slow motion, and this is just the start.

What else do we do when we’re not competing for cup points? We’ve had joint parties such as Bold Night (Blue+Gold) where karaoke included renditions of the Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, and of course the classic Gold Kanye West tune ‘Golddigger’. I am especially pleased that a priceless member of my cohort has the words memorized and can rap till the roof comes down! There was Precious Metals Night (Gold+Silver) at Mory’s which is a Yale institution. The cup was suitably silver but I made up for the lack of gold apparel there by painting my face gold. And this week, on the same day as Cookie Monster, we had Grold Quiz Night (Green+Gold) which I heard was a fantastic evening. My friends took a video of them spontaneously singing a few tunes and sent it to me, which made me feel a part of all the action.

So what does the future hold for the cohorts this year? Cohort Olympics of course!! I just can’t wait.

Also, if anyone can come up with a better name for a Green+Gold night then please let me know, it has been teasing my brain cells for at least a month if not more! Grold, Greld, Gold (that’s too easy), Greed (that’s just asking for trouble, or it could be a dinner evening), Goleen…… best to keep thinking on it.