This is the first post in our series, Cool Columbians, which will profile interesting students on campus who have all kinds of awesome interests and special talents.
If you have a friend you'd like to nominate, email us their name and why you think they'd be a great choice at spectrumadmin@columbiaspectator.com.
Sasha Digiulian, CC ’16, is the reigning PanAmerican and U.S. National champion in rock climbing. In 2011, she was given the title of "Female Overall World Champion." She is currently the only woman from North America and the third woman ever to climb a grade 9a rock.
Recently, DiGiulian has been featured in a number of magazines and blogs, such as Vogue and the Seventeen Magazine Fitness Blog, and she was the subject of a cover story in the Washington Post Magazine. She took some time to tell Spectrum a bit about herself, her sport, and her life at Columbia.
Nell Simon: How did you get started rock climbing?
Sasha DiGiulian: I started climbing in 1999 after my brother's birthday party at a local climbing gym in Alexandria, Va.
NS: What did it feel like to win the title of world champion in 2011?
SD: Mind-numbing sensation of joy. This was an experience in which I had to pinch myself countless times to make sure that it was reality.
NS: Do you have any particularly memorable fan encounters?
SD: Hmm. I was walking down the street in San Francisco and some dude yelled my name and asked me to sign his forehead. That was strange… I have also had boys paint S A S H A on their chests and stand up in line-formation at my competitions. That's cute.
