Name: Karina CruzAge: 20Hometown: The Bronx, New YorkMajor: American Studies major, Dance minorActivities: Kappa Sigma Alpha, SMA, student member of Diversity Advisory Council, works for the American Studies Department (transcribing Gullah interviews)Spirit animal: Aloof Jellyfish
Karina Cruz, ’15, has the type of personality that fills up a room. And whether she’s dancing, talking about Beyonce, or fighting the patriarchy, this week’s Campus Celebrity is always brightening someone’s day.
HCK: Describe yourself in five words.KC: Distracted, energetic, tired, glitter, goofy, but sophisticated. Luxurious, chic, but down to earth.
What is one thing everyone should know about you?I really, really truly love my Pillow Pet and his name is Karino, the Hungry Hungry Hippo. He’s very mellow but he’s a huge part of my life and not many people get to meet him because he’s very… shy. I care for him dearly and we go on so many adventures together. I travel a lot, so my Pillow Pet is my main squeeze.
What’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened to you at Kenyon?A lot of my time spent at Kenyon has been nothing like what I’d ever imagined, starting from the very beginning when I realized I’d be going to school in the middle of nowhere! That’s crazy to me: growing up in New York City and coming here. Also, becoming so involved in the dance department when I’d never danced a day in my life outside of parties was crazy. And being a part of a sorority that I helped found. It’s really the little things that I find the craziest; it’s meeting those people I never thought I’d meet and talking about things I never thought I’d be exposed to or talking about in this way.
What’s your favorite Peirce meal?Valentine’s Day at Peirce.
Tell us about what you did in Ghana last year!I went to Ghana with Peter Rutkoff’s wife and the Agricultural Training Institute under OSU located in Wooster, Ohio. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into, I kind of just said yes to everything, without doing much research. I just met up with Peter’s wife at the airport and I was like “Oh, this is real.”
Tell us more.I learned so many things as I was there. I immunized three goats, which was cool. Everyone else immunized about 100, but I immunized three. I was asked to castrate a goat, but I was not about to do that. I held a chick, but then I dropped it. I refused to climb a mountain, but I went to a rainforest and did a canopy walk instead. Oh, I saw a waterfall! It was so majestic! I interned for a seamstress. I realized that children are people too—by teaching them—and that I even like some of them. I taught them about dinosaurs, and I also realized I didn’t know much about dinosaurs, but it was a grand old time.
How long were you in Ghana?I was there for a little over a month. I had my 20th birthday there. I learned all these amazing dances. I went to this club and just had a dance-off. These girls were having a bridal shower and all of our guy friends were there, so it was girls versus guys, meaning I was the only girl involved with all these random girls. They were teaching me all these female dance moves. That was 20th birthday amazingness.
If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?Like time traveling or place traveling? If I could time travel, I would travel to the future to see what goes down. I think I’m so ahead of my time, I’d fit in so well with the future. But I have to pretend to be modest, so if I could travel anywhere really, I’d like to go to Spain where I’d learn about colonialism and stuff. I did go to Ghana and the Dominican Republic, so I’d like to go to Spain to get a cool picture of my heritage.
If your life was a movie, what would be your theme song?My theme song would probably be—this is going to sound terrible—some kind of dub step-remix to “Strawberry Fields Forever.” I feel like whenever I enter the room it would be something trippy like that, but happy and raving.
Who would play you in the movie?A disco ball wrapped in Christmas lights would play me. I think my life would be portrayed in a more abstract artsy film that only a specific audience will “get.” Jennifer Lopez can play future me, but for most of the film I’ll be in disco form.(Writer’s note: Karina also considered Madonna circa the 1980s, KaRihanna (Karina embodying Rihanna), Miley Cyrus and Khloe Kardashian as actresses that could portray her in her life movie).
What’s your favorite Beyonce song?“Partition.”
How are you going to change the world after you graduate?By being me
What’s on your Kenyon bucket list?Going to the Foxhole