To be honest, I felt bad trying to elicit an interview only 10 minutes after Betty had trudged back to her dorm in Reitman post-practice Chemistry test.
“Come in!”
I opened the door and found her lounging calmly in her PJs and munching on a peanut butter dark chocolate granola bar. Wasn’t expecting that.
Meet Betty Varghese, a freshman from New Jersey who sees her future in saving lives and baking yummies. Sometimes you’ll spot her chatting around campus, studying hard (she is pre-med!), beading bracelets, or watching Ellen. Sometimes you simply hear her voice floating around campus—she’s quite the singer. And if you’re lucky enough, you might bump into her in the Polaris kitchen, and she’ll probably offer you some freshly-baked goods.
Somehow our “10-minute interview” escalated into an hour-long account chockfull of random anecdotes and wonderfully irrelevant material. But that’s Betty: sociable, light-hearted, modest, and always with a fun story. Especially at midnight, post-practice Chem exam.
For the sake of keeping it short ’n’ sweet, here’s what I salvaged from a wildly entertaining hour of koi ponds, rabbits, EMT stories, a whole lot of food, beards, and so much more!
Fast 5: Round 1
Hometown? Upper Saddle River, NJ
Major? Neuroscience and HSSP
Speaks? English, Malayalam, does Spanish count?
Listening to? “The Mariner’s Revenge Song” by the Decemberists
Hidden talent? Hmm, I dunno. [pause] Hmm. Well. I do have a rather large collection of socks.
What’s the last movie you saw, and would you recommend it?
Magic Mike! I would recommend it. Just not to my parents.
What clubs and organizations are you in?
I’m in BEMCo. I’m the layout editor for the Pulse. Um, what else? What do I do?! Shoot! Um… I am a general tutor.
What’s your favorite class this semester?
I really like my UWS—I know that’s weird, but I really like it because I love J.D. Salinger. So it’s kind of like heaven. And it’s taught by a former seventh-grade teacher, so it’s not that tough.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Super cliché question, but necessary!
10 years from now, I see myself doing my residency somewhere, hopefully a surgical residency… hopefully married to a Scottish man. I see myself continuing to bake a lot.
Betty making chocolate chip cinnamon muffins. Yum!
Since you brought up baking, what’s your favorite food?
I really, really, really enjoy two specific pasta dishes I make. One of them is whole wheat pasta—whatever shape you want, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, lots of red pepper flakes. Usually I use turkey bacon, but real bacon is good, too. Spinach. And a little bit of lime juice. And another thing I like to add is cherry tomatoes, or grape or whatever. I don’t know which is which. That, sautéed in some extra virgin olive oil for some time, until it gets smushy. And then lime juice. Red pepper flakes, of course. Whole wheat pasta. And… goat cheese. Really good.
You’re making me really hungry, Betty. O.K. Midnight snack?
It depends. If I’m really hungry, like, if I had gotten back from a call and it’s midnight and I’m hungry—that happens all the time! I usually bake the night I’m on call, so I’d have cookie bars or brownies or cupcakes. And that’s my midnight snack.
Fast 5: Round 2!
Guilty pleasure? Watching Ellen instead of doing homework. It’s a problem!
Last thing you baked? Pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting
Favorite place to eat on campus? Anywhere I can cook
Biggest fear: Dying unhappy
Fill in the blank: Brandeis is: A place where you get to meet a lot of different kinds of people. You can get involved in everything. But only if you make an effort.