If you have had any exposure to HerCampus, you undoubtedly have heard about Carina Corbin before. Otherwise, you probably know her from the amazing talent she has with languages (whether it be Chinese or computer programming), the bubbly yet edgy presence she has on campus, and all of the everyday actions that she takes perfect care of. If you’re thinking, “How has the wondrously spectacular woman never been featured before on HerCampus?”, we’re on the same page. I had the same thoughts, so I decided that it was finally time to amend this.
Brief Introduction:
This is Carina Corbin from Brooklyn, NY. She is graduating with the Class of 2017, as a double major in Computer Science and Asian Languages and Civilization (East Asian Studies).
Below you will find that I have posed to her some of my favorite questions. To them, she responded with some of my favorite responses.
“What is one thing that you wish people knew about you upon first meeting?”
I usually remember people quite well. So there have been times where I have introduced myself to someone two or three times! I just didn’t want to make them uncomfortable for forgetting me!
“What makes you happy?”
I always enjoy connecting with people over their passions, worries, laughs and everything else in between.
“If you could make a holiday, what would it be?”
I would probably put a holiday in March or April. Maybe something like “National Peace Day” or “National Get a Cookie”, just because those months always felt the longest in primary and secondary school. I wanted a break!
“If you could travel back in time, where/when would you go?”
New York City in the 1980s. My parents just met at that time and I have a theory that they would’ve been too cool to hang out with me. I would love to go back to that time, try to become their friend and watch them fall in love.
“Why did you choose Amherst?”
I ultimately chose Amherst because of the people I met during DivOh weekend who gave me an honest image of Amherst. They showed me that every school has good and bad, but Amherst tries their hardest to support students and will try to better itself if. Academically, it was the first school to say I can double major in biology (I changed to CS a bit later) and take two foreign languages and study abroad.
“Describe a favorite memory of each of your last three years at Amherst.”
First year: My dorm, Williston, made a music video for the Green Games and we were so proud. I showed it to my friends and family and even my dad’s coworkers. Now, it is incredibly embarrassing but at the time I enjoyed bonding with my friends. It was also the first time I sang on camera which was fun!
Second Year: Going to Korea was a huge moment for me. I met up with several Amherst students there ranging from people I only knew the name of to friends who knew my life story. I fell in love with Seoul but I think it was the souls of the people met there that makes me want to return. Hopefully I can soon!
Third Year: Towards the end of third year a few friends and I cooked and ate fried rice at 4am in the morning. I was visiting two of them and we got hungry after four hours of chatting. We decided to make rice and invited another friend to join. We had all just become friends that year and it felt full circle!
The rice we made!:
[I would say this looks like a pretty hearty meal *wink*]
“Hardest decision made at Amherst? Biggest regret?”
I don’t remember my hardest decision. I think every choice I’ve made here has been difficult. From deciding where I wanted to live the next year to deciding whether or not to do a thesis, big questions can cause me to ponder for days.
As for my biggest regret, I think I should’ve worked in groups more for computer science in the beginning. It is a tough major to conquer solo when you don’t understand something. If I knew first year what I know now, I would have worked in more study groups and reached out to my professors more often.
“What will you miss most about Amherst when you graduate?”
The Amherst life of meeting new people, learning new things and constantly evolving.
“What is the best compliment you’ve received?”
You are the kind of person people want to be around. Also, any time someone says I’m funny, it makes my day!
So there! I hope that I have proved to you all that Carina is a great person, even though it doesn’t really take too much effort on my part. She will be on campus for another year, so make the most out of it by getting to know her better. Challenge yourself to keep her name in your long-term memory (think about all the Orientation name games) and don’t hold yourself back from giving compliments to others.
Carina, thank you so much for contributing so much to the spirit of this campus! Also, I very sincerely appreciate all of the jokes that you crack. <3 you!