Summer 2024 Class Notes Preview: 2020s

2020

Stephen Cone and
Kyra Ann Dawkins
jsc2247@columbia.edu
kad2196@columbia.edu

Nathan dos Santos has been preparing the first English translation of the Foral of Macau, a 16th-century charter that was instrumental in Portuguese imperial consolidation in East Asia. With the help of experts at the University of Groningen preparing an accompanying landmark Chinese translation, they will publish the annotated text in three volumes across the next three years.

Thank you to Nathan, and we look forward to hearing from more of you.

2021

Mario A. Garcia Jr.
mag2329@columbia.edu

Hey, Class of 2021! I hope this summer has been a great time for rest and relaxation for everyone! It feels like it has been so long since we’ve been all together and I miss those days. I would love to hear more from all of you; if you would like to share your own Class Note or update, please feel free to reach out to me at any time by email or use the Class Notes webform, college.columbia.edu/cct/submit_class_note.

Danielle Mikaelian is in her second year of studies at Harvard Law but feels nostalgic about her days in Morningside Heights. While at Columbia, she was wellness chair for the Office of University Life, business director for the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review, editor-in-chief of the Women in Law and Politics Journal, president of the Columbia University Armenian Society and more. She writes: “It’s a shame how the pandemic ended our undergraduate journey, preventing proper goodbyes and senior traditions. I hope this note finds my classmates well — all the best in your endeavors. Love, Danielle.”

2022

Mark Anthony Torres
mat2223@columbia.edu

No news this time.

2023

Ashley Yu
ashley.yu@columbia.edu

Hello, Class of 2023! It is hard to believe it is more than a year since graduation! I hope everyone has found a way to ease into post-grad life, whether that is through starting a job, graduate school or other pursuits! My hope is for all of us to stay connected as young alumni! A great way to stay connected is by sharing Class Notes to update classmates on new adventures in your life. Please reach out to me with your news via email or through the Class Notes webform, college.columbia.edu/cct/submit_class_note.

Ruchika Mukherjee reflects on all that has happened since graduating: “I moved to a new country, I built friendships and networks, and started a corporate job that I’d always wanted. A lot of this would not have been possible without Columbia. It’s all exhilarating but sometimes I struggle with all the changes that this past year has brought — and I end my daily call to my mother on my walk to work saying ‘Reached school, gotta go’ more often than I’d like to admit. Columbia stays in my heart and mind always!”

Taylor Johnston has been working on the Global Environment Health and Safety team at Pfizer and is completing the 4+1 dual M.S. in sustainability management at SPS.

Astrid Liden is finishing her first year at the University of Oxford, where she is pursuing an M.Sc. in refugee and forced migration studies, on a Rhodes Scholarship. This fall Astrid will begin a master of public policy, also at Oxford, with a focus on migration and asylum policy. She writes, “I am very grateful for the opportunity to be at Oxford on this amazing scholarship and to take advantage of so many of the interests and passions that started during my time at Columbia!”

Nixon Mckenzie he has secured an apartment in New York City and embarked on his career at PwC!