Name: Sara Knobel
Year: Senior
Major: Integrated Educational Studies
Affiliation: Theta
Relationship Status: In a relationship with a cool guy named Bob!
What is your dream job?
I would love to work for a student travel company. I volunteer with Birthright Israel right now (where Jews ages 18-26 can visit Israel for a free 10-day trip (holler at me if you want to go)) and it’s the most fulfilling and exciting thing I’ve ever done. There’s something amazing about helping facilitate trips where people experience a really transformative type of learning. I also want to, one day, retire and be a whale-watching guide. This girl loves whales more than you love your own mother.
If you won the lottery, what would you do/where would you go?
I would definitely set 60% of the dollar bills aside for my future—buying a house, raising a family, buying a whale watching boat… etc. I’d give 20% in the form of a fat check to my parents because they are the most brilliant and unconditionally supportive humans on this planet (I know, we all think our parents are the tightest, but meet them and you won’t be able to argue with me) and they deserve the world. Next, I’d pick a nonprofit organization and donate 10% so I’d have good Jewish karma for the rest of my life. With the 10% left, I would most likely buy a sweet travel vehicle and drive across the country with my boyfriend… then romp over to Tahiti for a bit, and then maybe South America. I take pictures of everything I do, so I’d be in paradise if I could just travel and take photos.
Advice to freshman Sara?
Honestly, freshman Sara did a pretty okay job considering the often-ridiculous circumstances of being a freshman in college…
But, I would probably tell her not to worry about being best friends with everyone she met. I was really lucky with my roommate situation (shout out to Amy “Shi Show” Ma & Erica “Urrca” Snider), but I was also focused on making sure everyone I met liked me. I would tell freshman Sara to stay open to new relationships, but would remind her she did not need to be best friends with all 100 people who lived on the 2nd floor of Henley. I would also DEFINITELY tell her to relax and enjoy freshman year, because everything, somehow, works out just fine (I sound like my mother).
What is the craziest thing to ever happen to you?
What comes to mind is that I was able to get 4 college credits for living on a Yacht in the Galapagos… because I’ll never forget that trip. (Go to the Galapagos in your lifetime if you are able!) But also, something pretty crazy happened last year. One of my best friends, Bobby, & I bought $15 “GA Lawn” tickets to see one of my favorite bands, Kings of Leon, and Young the Giant for his birthday. We made silly signs to try to get the attention of their stage manager, Nacho, because he sometimes finds people with these signs and gives them $250 pit tickets for free. Long story short, their stage manager walked past 50+ people with similarly silly signs RIGHT UP TO ME and gave us two tickets. We almost peed our pants. Bobby might have. We were jumping up and down and running in circles. It was the best thing in the world, and was pretty crazy/lucky. I guess maybe you’d file that more under “lucky”, but I never win contests or lotteries or anything, so I felt like the queen of the world.
Worst/best pickup line you ever got?
Luckily, for some reason (I guess for this very reason), I have a “note” in my phone titled “lol @ things boys said to me” from my freshman year. How convenient. Here are some highlights. I hope one or two of these people read this and recognize that they said these absurd things. I’m laughing as I re-write these.
1) “I really like your eyelashes, they go well with your eyeballs.”
2) “You got a mystical allure to ya.”
3) “You’re hipster. But not the bad kind. The hip kind.”
4) “I like your nose ring what’s your name.” (an uninterrupted sentence)
If you could add one eatery to campus, what would it be?
I’m in love with Banzai Bowls in Newport. Açai bowls speak to my heart. Growl is good, but I would definitely bring Banzai Bowls to Chap. (now I want one).
What would you classify as your best memory at Chapman?
This is cheesy, but my favorite memories are the ones where I met people who I know will be in my life forever. One of those was when my *future* boyfriend walked through the doors of my sorority chapter meeting, and I said “Holy shit who is that and where do I find one” out loud… (Becky Justman can testify). He worked in Greek life at Chapman my freshman year, and started a fraternity here, so he and his coworker presented to each sorority. Another was when I met my best friend, and my “big” in Theta, Nicole. I was a *literal* nightmare on sorority bid day, because I was really sick and confused and a clueless freshman, but the most amazing thing came from it. She was randomly paired with me and is my best friend to this day. I’m very thankful for my education, relationships, and experiences at Chapman, but those are a couple of memories that will stay with me for a long time.