Hello everyone! I am Abdullah Farhat, better known as Hunter. I’m Syrian and I grew up in Saudi Arabia. I am a rising sophomore, so I just finished my first year at Vassar. Everyone here is so nice and everything is AMAZING! (love the weather especially right now)

What I’m Doing Now

I am currently working as a research assistant in the cognitive science department for Professor Josh de Leeuw. We are working with a global effort to find out heat’s effect on cognition.

Look at some of the web experiments I made here: https://jatos.mindprobe.eu/publix/emdSXF7ZmwA

These will be deployed soon with heat-waves all across the world. Cool, right?

This thursday I will start house team training to become Jewett’s House President! If you don’t politely address me as “Mr. President” my body guards will tackle you. I am also preparing to join the rugby team but don’t tell them I might lowkey dip on them after a couple weeks.

Things I Did Right

It was a little hard adjusting at the start. I was afraid of a lot but I still put myself out there HARD and talked to sooo many people and that was the best thing I think I did. I fumbled many interactions ngl and misread the room a few times, virtue of being a non-native speaker. Still, keep meeting people and learning new things!

Also, as a Syrian, I struggled with ID processing in every bureaucratic setting ever. If you are like me, try to get a state ID or driver’s license early. I got my license in the mail a few days ago. It gives me peace of mind.

What I Didn’t Do

Explore academics. I did not explore Econ, Cogsci, or Neuro yet, and these are all things I was potentially interested in. I took mostly CS and Math (which I love but still). It almost feels too late. It’s not, but I should have done all that my first year. Sit down and look at the majors list and look at the classes. Doubt your major and explore just for fun, even. This is my main regret if I have any.

On that note, go to more club meetings. Explore extracurriculars. I explored an okay amount of clubs but did not make deep connections inside any. It would have been nice to have like two or three organizations I really wanted to participate in by the end of my first year, other than Vassar’s Coders++ (join us I will be there a lot probably!)

First Year Privilege

You don’t realize this exists, but you can walk up to people randomly and strike up a convo just because you are a freshman. You can do this with your classmates too, especially. It’s only weird if you make it weird. You all don’t know anyone. Invite people to study together or to get lunch. Put yourself out there! 

J*bs

Try to get close to your professors and ask about research opportunities in office hours. Oh, and go to office hours!! If a professor thinks you’re hard-working or committed to their class they will be more likely to bump up your grade or help you in other ways, like hiring you as a research assistant. Being an RA is probably the best thing you can do as a freshman if you are really interested in something. So, get to know your profs, they are so nice!!! Even when they tell you to shut your mouth every class (I miss you Prof Kumar 🥰)

Also, there are many leadership opportunities with stipends, biggest of which is house team. I was not expecting to win the “election” to become president. I applied because it seemed like a cool position and then forgot about it. And now I am gearing up to lead a team of people mostly older than me (lowkey scary). So, if you ever see an opportunity you like, just apply. You never know.

We get to welcome incoming freshmen and try to make it homey for them (you!). Get to know your house team and student fellow. They can be a great resource. My StuFel was the sweetest and most helpful person ever when I first got here. They are basically Vassar’s version of an RA but on steroids. They can help you with much more than just your dorm issues. You can go to their office hours and literally ask about anything. 

Oh, and there was no election, I was just appointed. It’s a benevolent dictatorship! If you live in Jewett and have any concerns or suggestions to improve the house, especially if you want any events, (are you ready for brewer cup?) contact me! I will also be sending you weekly emails with awesome events around campus. Definitely read them if you want to know about the coolest events happening that week.

Looking forward to meeting you all. Don’t be shy to email me or DM me on instagram (@just_hunterxh). 

And have fun with it, its college 😉 

GOOD LUCK!

-A. Hunter Farhat