Sophomore Secrets from Swegs

So far my time at Stanford has been an amazing experience. I have been able to expand my horizons by taking interesting (and challenging) classes, ranging from math to computer science to international relations, all with an excellent faculty. I have had the unique opportunity to interact with countless students who managed to get into one of the most sought after universities in the world, as well as some graduates whose ideas and determination have helped change the world. And on top of that, I’ve managed to improve my golf game drastically, going from not making a single start my entire freshman fall to teeing it up at the National Championship last spring. But as a freshman, I was, as Coach Ray likes to say, “drinking from the fire hose.” Classes, golf, practice, workouts—it all flew by. Now as a sophomore (who thinks he knows what he’s doing) I have my feet under me a little bit more, and I’ve had some time to reflect on what I’ve learned the last year and a half:

--Don’t challenge Dom to a game of basketball. Or a game of any sport whose name ends in the word “ball”. Or the versa climber. Or a political debate. He will win.

--If you want to have the best-prepared breakfast possible at a college golf event, track down the kitchen staff and tell them you have a dairy allergy. You will be taken care of. (Thanks to senior David Boote for leading by example here.)

--If you go out to team dinner and don’t know what to order, have what V (Viraat Badhwar) is having. It will be the best thing on the menu.

--If you don’t know where Mav is, he’s probably at Siebel practicing.

--If you hear a country song on the radio, Brad knows its name. And the band name. And when the song was written. And when the band formed. And potentially even the age of the lead singer.

--Don’t judge a book by its cover. He might not look it, but Tank can put away food like you cannot believe. Legend has it that he single handedly put an “All you can eat sushi” restaurant out of business.

--Don’t challenge Brandon and Isaiah to a team competition if they get to be on the same team. (Mav and V found this one out the hard way).

--Sit next to Chris in Econ lecture. If you get bored with the lecturer, his twitter feed can be a nice distraction.

by Jeffrey Swegle