Name: Paul Naanou
Year: Senior
Hometown: Springfield, VA
Major: Double major in Applied Math and French and Francophone Studies (I know, strange combo)
What are you involved in on campus?
First Year Experience (OA), Tutoring, Research
What is your spirit animal?
Leslie Knope because she cares for her friends aggressively.
I know this is late, but what was the best part of your summer?
Finishing up my awesome internship in Paris, traveling to Lebanon for my honors thesis research, and then teaching kiddos how to do math.
What is your favorite thing about William and Mary?
Every person I’ve met here has enriched my life in some way because it is only at W&M that you find such a union of diverse, unique experiences.
What is your favorite movie?
Choices are hard (as evidenced by my choice of majors)! My twin sister and I have watched The Holiday so many times and because everything I get to do with her means so much, I’ll say that–it gets you right in the feels!
What is the one song that you are embarrassed to know all the lyrics to?
“Boyfriend” by Justin Bieber. All it takes is one listen and the lyrics haunt you with their catchiness.
If you were president of William & Mary for one day, what would you do?
I don’t know if anyone has seen the movie Le Festin de Babette, but I would replicate the premise of the movie for campus. A woman wins the lottery and cooks an extravagant dinner for people in her town and I would hire a team of incredible chefs to do the same for all of campus. I’m just fascinated by food’s capacity to bring people together and break down any barriers!
As a senior, what advice do you have for freshmen?
The possibilities at W&M are endless! Never feel like something is too different from what you’ve done in the past. If an opportunity makes sense and you are passionate about it, go for it! It is indeed possible to interview Lebanese Francophone poets in Europe and study protein structures and algorithms at the same time!