In Chow’s forthcoming book, The Doors You Can Open: A New Way to Network, Build Trust, and Use Your Influence to Create a More Inclusive Workplace, she details the concept of sponsorship, and how we can leverage that power to better ourselves and our communities. Chow will be in conversation with clinical neuropsychologist Leigh Elizabeth Colvin ’14, TC’19 as part of Columbia College Women’s Author Series on March 18.

What were you like when you arrived at Columbia?

Scared and excited! I knew the stereotype that college is about going to parties, but I was never really into that sort of thing (I love sleeping too much). I was grateful to find out that while, yes, parties are a thing, they weren’t the thing at Columbia. Thank goodness for that, because if I had gone to a school where partying was the main thing to do, I probably wouldn’t have made it.

What do you remember about your first-year living situation?

Carman 6! There was so much diversity there in ways that I had never experienced before. It was more racially diverse than my high school, but also socioeconomically, too. Don’t get me wrong: I grew up in a wealthy neighborhood, but I never knew people who would regularly fly to the other coast on the weekend to go on a shopping spree. On the other end of the spectrum were students who were working their tails off to be at the College, having taken out loans and doing work-study in addition to excelling in their classes.

But perhaps the greatest impact Carman 6 had on me (other than making some of my closest friends there!) was when I came back from winter break that first year. I had received a mix of A’s and B’s (OK, mostly B’s) in my classes and was under the impression that because college was harder than high school, B’s were normal. Not so! After I found out that almost all my friends on Carman 6 were pulling all A’s, I knew I had to step up my game. They inspired me to be better than I was, and isn’t that the best thing your friends can do for you?

What Core class or experience do you most remember, and why?

I am a hardcore Core stan; I credit my critical thinking skills to the Core. Even at Stanford, where I went to get my Ph.D., I had instructors tell me that I asked better questions than most.

Logic and Rhetoric completely kicked my butt. I got my first (and only) F on my first assignment in that class, and it forced me to rethink my entire career. I went into college thinking I was pretty good at writing and even entertained the possibility of becoming a fiction writer. Logic and Rhetoric quickly dispelled that notion. And lo — now I’m a writer, but of nonfiction.

Did you have a favorite spot on campus, and what did you like about it?

My favorite spot on campus was Professor Walter Mischel’s laboratory, deep in the bowels of Schermerhorn. From sophomore year on, I worked as a research assistant for two psychology graduate students: Rodolfo (Rudy) Mendoza-Denton GSAS’99 and Lara Kammrath GSAS’04. Their mentorship and friendship played a huge role in my decision to become a professor of organizational behavior. They showed me that doing research as part of a team can be exciting and fulfilling. Of all the social groups I was a part of during my time at Columbia, the Mischel lab was where I felt most secure and safe, that the people there liked me and valued me. In fact, I liked it there so much that I probably spent almost as much time in the lab as the graduate students did. I studied there, I napped there between classes — at some point, Rudy had to pull me aside and tell me that the lab was a professional space and that I needed to take it down a notch.

What, if anything, about your College experience would you do over?

I wish I had been more willing to commit to a club on campus, to just be a member and climb the ranks. Which is a little strange to say, because I was actually quite engaged in university life. I was a volunteer with Peace Games (a group that went into public schools in Harlem and taught kids conflict resolution skills), a Big Sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters, a volunteer at a suicide hotline, and a residential assistant. I even joined the dance club at one point (I got put into a “novice dancer” piece that involved the most basic choreography). I was doing plenty, but I was mostly doing activities where I was the one in charge; in life, you have to learn how to be a good leader and a good follower.