The Things We Saved

Illustration by Irena Roman

1. Dr. Robert Klapper ’79, VPS’83 // Columbia University Bookstore Planner

This planner is a prized possession. I found it in a box a few years ago, and I go back in time to my freshman year whenever I look at it. I have my schedule at a glance, all these notes like “wash your clothes, write a paper, read your chemistry book” — and notes for my tutoring sessions with Robert Crochelt ’78. Back then I thought Bob was an employee of the University doing tutoring. It was not until years later when I saw his name in the 1978 Class Notes column that I realized he was only a year ahead of me! He was an angel from above going out of his way to help me; without those tutoring sessions, I never would have made it through freshman chemistry and become who I am today.

2. Matt Sodl ’88 // Football Helmet

My Columbia football helmet shows the battle scars of four years of Ivy League football. It was a privilege to represent Columbia on the field, and I’m honored to pass this legacy on to my son, Patrick ’26, who also wears Columbia blue!

3. Dina Feivelson ’91, PH’06 // Mug from John Jay Dining Hall

I have a mug I “borrowed” from John Jay Dining Hall. I lived in John Jay for two and a half years, so the dining hall was basically my kitchen; if we didn’t finish something we would just take it upstairs, and that’s how I got my mug. Now it’s great nostalgia to have it, along with my Columbia Club of New York mug and my Columbia Centennial Circle mug!

4. Bich-Nga Nguyen ’96 // Chair from the Admissions Office

I rescued a chair from my work-study job in the Admissions Office. It was going to go in the trash; I was living in Wien at the time and all I had in my room was the standard- issue chair with a desk. This chair had arms you could snuggle into and was much more comfortable, so I asked if I could have it, and they said, “Sure!”

5. Khalid Ali ’04 // Lit Hum Books

Despite a dozen moves within and outside the United States and a wife and two kids later, somehow, somewhere, I’ve managed to hold on to most of my Lit Hum and CC books. One morning in the midst of the 2016 election season I found — to my surprise, delight and pride — my daughter (who was 4 at the time and already a bookworm) flipping through The Federalist Papers.