(upbeat music)
- Hi, my name is Calvin Duran.
I'm a sophomore at Harvard College,
concentrating in social studies.
Outside the classroom I'm really involved
with the culture organizations,
and I'm also involved with some consulting groups on campus.
- All right, so where are we now?
- So, we're at the Radcliffe Quadrangle.
Also known as the Quad.
It's a part of like Harvard's residential college system.
I'm specifically in Cabot House,
so we're actually right outside Cabot House
right here, where I live.
- So, what does it mean when you're put into a house?
- So, in your freshman year you kind of live
in like Harvard Yard, the most historic part of Harvard.
But then, when you become an upperclassmen
you kind of get sorted into like
one of 12 upperclassmen houses.
Kind of like Harry Potter, I would say.
And, these houses, there's like three in the quad.
And, there's like nine on the river.
And, I got sorted into Cabot House.
- Very cool.
So like, are these houses, are they kind of like
little communities, are they...
How are they different from, I guess,
dorms at like maybe like other schools?
- Yeah, they're really different, actually.
They're like, kind of like living and learning communities.
So, each house has like their own dining hall,
their own like events, and like their own community.
And, each house is really unique and really special
to Harvard's culture.
Simply, Cabot, I love Cabot.
I'm really involved like house committee.
I'm involved like intramurals.
I'm in charge of like the Cabot Aquarium,
which is like our party space.
And so, there's like really fun events
every week that I go to.
So, housing day is, well it happens every year,
everyone celebrates it, but.
In your spring of your freshman year,
there's a day right before spring break
where you'll actually find out your housing assignment,
and you'll find out what house you got into at Harvard.
And, like upperclassmen dorms storm your room.
- To the family.
C-A-B-O-T welcome to the family.
- It's a huge event.
There's just like 500 college kids
in the middle of the yard just screaming,
and dressed up in all different types of like...
Some not even dressed up, and like painting costumes.
And, just run into your room
and tell you what house you got.
It's really awesome.
(horn music)
So, this is where I live.
It's Cabot House, more specifically, Eliot Hall.
I live in a suite with three other roommates.
They're also my best friends.
Yeah, so this is my room.
I have a pretty big single for a sophomore.
Perks of quad housing.
It formerly was a common room.
But, my friends and I both decided that
we kinda wanted to have like a common room
and kinda have me sleep in it. (laughing)
That does not make sense.
Yeah, but it really works out.
It's really nice and kinda always being around my friends,
always having them chill out in my room.
And, kind of have playing either just playing video games
or just studying, it's always nice being together with them.
(chill music)
- [Interviewer] So, what are academics like at Harvard?
- They're pretty intense, but I feel like
they're definitely really like transformative.
- So, what is your major?
- So, I'm a social studies concentrator.
No, I'm not like a 7th grade teacher, it's not like--
- Yeah, that's what most people think of
when they hear social studies.
- Yeah, you know, they think of
the class you took in middle school.
But, it's actually social sciences.
So, it's kind of like a really unique major at Harvard.
It's probably one of the most intensive
like humanities and social science type majors at Harvard.
It's kind of like, you kind of,
it's like an individualized major.
So, you pick a focus field within the social sciences,
and you kind of like make your own plan of study.
And, like develop kind of your own like problem or issue,
within like different social sciences.
Like, government, economics, psychology, anthropology.
And, you take different classes from those departments
to kind of hone in on your focus.
And then, write a senior thesis.
- And, why did you pick like this major
as opposed to like some other I guess like
maybe more business related major?
- Yeah, so I feel like being able to like
have classes in multiple different perspectives
definitely like makes me a more critical thinker.
And also, I feel like this is the,
like most majors at any college,
you only study one discipline the entire
like your entire college experience.
And, this is like really unique in that you can
like study one issue under the lens of like
multiple different disciplines.
So, I feel like it's a really unique Harvard experience.
And, something that like I would really
be passionate about during my time here.
- In terms of research experience,
have you been able to like do research
at the undergraduate level, like with professors?
- Yeah, so at Harvard there's like
so many research experiences.
In my freshman fall, already like two weeks
into freshman year I was able to like
get a research assistant position with Roland Fryer,
he's a labor economist at the economics department.
- [Interviewer] That's cool.
- Yeah, it was probably one of the most
like interesting, and like, I'd say,
like fulfilling experiences that I've had
at Harvard so far.
- So, what do you think the next couple years
are gonna look like academically for you?
- Yeah, so I would say this year it's kind of like
mainly doing basic social theory,
and learning about different like kind of like
the canon of like social theory,
and typical social studies things.
Kind of studying society.
And then, my junior year's probably like
developing my own plan of study,
choosing what courses I really want
to be a part of my major.
That like surround my focus field
of international development.
And then, my senior year is kind of like,
just culminates in a senior thesis.
So, that's like probably like a 50 page work,
my first kind of like academic work
I'll ever like really put a lot of time and effort to.
So, I'm kind of excited for that too.
So, we're right outside of Annenberg,
which is mainly known as the freshman dining hall.
But, they actually have a second floor
where you can like host club meetings,
and other extracurricular things.
- So, do you go up there a lot
for the different clubs you're in?
- Yeah, sometimes I do have meeting up there.
Specifically for the club I'm starting this fall,
Harvard Latinxs in Finance and Technology.
It's essentially like a preprofessional group
for other Hispanic, Latino identifying students on campus.
- [Interviewer] Very cool.
So, tell me about that club.
What is your goal for the club?
- Yeah, so kind of like getting onto campus,
I realized there was not really like a place
that kind of prepared students of color,
and like underrepresented minorities in business.
For like to help them prepare for
wanting to get into their careers that they wanted.
So, I decided like why not start this club?
So, we kind of host like resume workshops,
like interview prep for like a variety of
like different career options from like
consulting, finance, to like technology.
Which is what we mainly focus on.
So, we kind of provide just a lot of resources
to the Latinxs community at Harvard.
- So, how does this play into your career goals?
- Actually, after college I hope to go into
like management consulting, or finance.
Still kind of deciding, 'cause I'm still a sophomore.
So, that really helps me in kind of like
helping me prepare for like case interviews,
and kind of just like networking in general.
And, kind of just preparing for interviews
and the recruiting process.
And, trying to find these opportunities.
(chill music)
- [Interviewer] What has surprised you
the most about Harvard?
Like what didn't you expect?
- I feel like coming into Harvard,
it's like known as a good school.
A lot of people thought it would be like,
I thought it would be like kind of like
cutthroat or like competitive.
But like, I came here, and I found
that like people like, rather than compare
themselves to one another, they're more likely
to just connect with each other.
And like, their like house life, and community.
Like, it's like really awesome in terms of
like getting to know some people
from so many different backgrounds.
And, rather than like in a competitive academic way,
people were actually connecting, getting to know each other,
and like really develop like lifelong bonds.
Coming to Harvard I probably met
some of my like best friends, my lifelong best friends,
which are like my roommates.
And, I feel like that's definitely been like
one of the most fulfilling experiences.
Not just my academic life, but also like social life,
and getting to know like such amazing people here.
- Were you surprised by the diversity at Harvard?
- Yeah, I feel like that's one thing
that really stood out to me, that I didn't expect coming in.
Was not only like the diversity that I mentioned early,
in terms of like academic interest, but also like,
I'd say ethnic and like financial diversity,
and like economic diversity.
Specifically me, like I come from
like a low income background.
And, coming to like an institution like Harvard,
I feel like a lot of people think, oh,
like they look at the sticker price and think like,
oh like 80k, how can you afford that?
And, little do people know that Harvard has
like one of the best financial aid initiatives
in like the entire country.
And, I'm actually coming here for like little to nothing.
So like, I feel like people don't really know that.
And, that's definitely another message
of one to send out to applicants that are like
first generation like me, and also low income,
that think they can't afford a school like this.
And, realize that schools like Harvard
and other Ivy League schools
actually provide the most money.
Are some of like the best options
to actually pursue higher education.
Thanks for watching.
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