--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Columbia University, where I went to…" description: "\"Columbia University, where I went to study in 1993, insisted its undergraduates learn a foreign language, so I discovered French.\" — Aravind Adiga" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d00/aravind-adiga-4424_columbia_columbia-university-where-i-went-to-stud_2808.png" --- # Columbia University, where I went to study in 1993… ![“Columbia University, where I went to study in 1993, insisted its undergraduates learn a foreign language, so I discovered French.” quote by Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d00/aravind-adiga-4424_columbia_columbia-university-where-i-went-to-stud_2808.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d00/aravind-adiga-4424_columbia_columbia-university-where-i-went-to-stud_2808.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d00/aravind-adiga-4424_columbia_columbia-university-where-i-went-to-stud_2808.png) > “Columbia University, where I went to study in 1993, insisted its undergraduates learn a foreign language, so I discovered French.” [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mandated language study can open unexpected cultural pathways and personal growth. **In simple terms:** Compulsory foreign language requirement Key Takeaway Curriculum shapes interests Themes education policy cultural exposure personal discovery language learning Mood curious reflective Type narrative informative When to use this quote - college orientation - study abroad decision - career planning Key Concepts curricular mandates cross‑cultural competence Practical Applications - academic advising - language program design Questions to Reflect On - How do requirements influence academic choices? - What value does language bring to a career? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Columbia university](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/columbia-university/) [Foreign language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-language/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Spanish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spanish/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) ## Related quotes > [ \[Presently, science undergraduates\] do not learn to write clearly and briefly, marshalling their points in due and aesthetically satisfying order, and eliminating inessentials. 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I prided myself on getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-koenig/i-went-to-columbia-university-because-i-knew-i-wanted-to-go-to-a/) [Ezra Koenig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-koenig/) > [ \[Mark\] Lilla is a professor at Columbia University in New York, and he has waded into the debate about what Democrats and liberals should… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-inskeep/mark-lilla-is-a-professor-at-columbia-university-in-new-york-and-he/) [Steve Inskeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-inskeep/) > [Misguided liberal Joseph Stiglitz.Columbia University professor and Nobel Prize winner, claims the American dream is dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jedediah-bila/misguided-liberal-joseph-stiglitz-columbia-university-professor-and/) [Jedediah Bila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jedediah-bila/) > [I work with The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. 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I want the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-stiles/i-m-going-to-columbia-university-but-i-m-trying-to-keep-that-low/) [Julia Stiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-stiles/) > [I worked at Columbia University's School of Public Health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-westheimer/i-worked-at-columbia-university-s-school-of-public-health/) [Ruth Westheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-westheimer/) > [As a health scientist at Columbia University, Les Roberts, pointed out, sooner or later people are going to be looking at a child in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/as-a-health-scientist-at-columbia-university-les-roberts-pointed-out/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Columbia University in 1959 had a kind of reputation that interested me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/columbia-university-in-1959-had-a-kind-of-reputation-that-interested/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [The young women, what can they not learn, what can they not achieve, with Columbia University annex thrown open to them? In this great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-w-sherwood/the-young-women-what-can-they-not-learn-what-can-they-not-achieve/) [M. E. W. Sherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-e-w-sherwood/) > [High on the list of things I've been meaning to do since I moved to New York in 2004 is going up to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-geist/high-on-the-list-of-things-i-ve-been-meaning-to-do-since-i-moved-to/) [Willie Geist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-geist/) > [Two years later, I went to the University of Minnesota from which I was on leave for several years during the war as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stigler/two-years-later-i-went-to-the-university-of-minnesota-from-which-i/) [George Stigler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stigler/) > [I starred in a Broadway play that was Sidney Poitier's first directing job and the cast was Lou Gossett, Cicely Tyson, Diana Ladd and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steinberg/i-starred-in-a-broadway-play-that-was-sidney-poitier-s-first/) [David Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steinberg/) ## More by Aravind Adiga > [What keeps India safe really is the heroism of millions of poor Indians who every day reject the allure of terrorism. What keeps India…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/what-keeps-india-safe-really-is-the-heroism-of-millions-of-poor/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“Every day, on the roads of Delhi, some chauffeur is driving an empty car with a black suitcase sitting on the backseat. Inside that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/every-day-on-the-roads-of-delhi-some-chauffeur-is-driving-an-empty/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [I am coming back to New York after five years, and it seems that psychics are taking over the city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/i-am-coming-back-to-new-york-after-five-years-and-it-seems-that/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [You ask 'Are you a man or a demon?' Neither, I say. I have woken up, and the rest of you are sleeping, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/you-ask-are-you-a-man-or-a-demon-neither-i-say-i-have-woken-up-and/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [I’ve lived in several countries and been a disaster everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/i-ve-lived-in-several-countries-and-been-a-disaster-everywhere/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [Neither. I am just one who has woken up while the rest of you are still sleeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/neither-i-am-just-one-who-has-woken-up-while-the-rest-of-you-are/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“People in this country are still waiting for the war of their freedom to come from somewhere else, from the jungles, from the mountains,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/people-in-this-country-are-still-waiting-for-the-war-of-their-freedom/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“These people were building homes for the rich, but they lived in tents covered with blue tarpaulin sheets, and partitioned into lanes by lines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/these-people-were-building-homes-for-the-rich-but-they-lived-in-tents/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“And then he realized that the thing that was blocking his passage was cleared, and he was falling; his body had begun its short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/and-then-he-realized-that-the-thing-that-was-blocking-his-passage-was/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“When it comes to work - hurry, hurry, hurry. 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