Sophomores Celebrate Concentration Declarations at HUA Event

Hundreds of students mingled in Tercentenary Theatre Friday afternoon to celebrate declaring their concentrations at the Harvard Undergraduate Association’s annual Concentration Declaration Day event.

Though many students were in the middle of preparing for midterms and upcoming paper deadlines, they said the event — spearheaded by the HUA’s Academic Team — gave them a chance to reflect on their academic journey as they enjoyed slices of Joe’s Pizza and took pictures with their concentration signs.

Aisha A. Abdulwali ’27, who declared Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology as her concentration, said she was grateful the HUA provided dozens of boxes of pizza and had banners for each of Harvard’s 50 undergraduate concentrations available for students to pose with.

“I really appreciate that they provided food. I really like this format where we can just hold up the signs ourselves and take pictures,” Abduwali said.

Paul Jeon ’27, a newly-minted Computer Science concentrator, said the day marked a turning point for sophomores.

“I think the whole day is kind of exciting,” Jeon said.

“I think it also feels like you’re picking one door and you’re closing off the other doors, but I think it’s also good to start narrowing down your choices and trying to figure out what you want to accomplish,” he added.

Matthew R. Tobin ’27, the HUA’s Academic Team Officer, said he was pleased with the event’s turnout, but that the HUA should consider holding its Concentration Day event earlier in the school year in future iterations.

“Doing it a little bit earlier in the year would have been better because I think that there’s more students who are deciding last minute in the last months rather than the last day,” Tobin said, referencing the College-wide deadline for sophomores to declare their concentrations by Oct. 11.

In addition to the celebration at Tercentenary Theatre, the HUA hosted an advising session for students Friday morning in Harvard Hall, where they could speak with concentration advisers across most of the College’s undergraduate concentrations.

“I’m super, super grateful for the concentration advisers for turning out to that because I really appreciate everything that they do for the students,” Tobin, a Crimson Editorial editor, said.

Wonjae Suh ’27, who plans to concentrate in Mathematics or Physics, said all of his sophomore friends had dropped by the Yard to take pictures with their concentration banners and celebrate the occasion.

“I think everyone I know came at one point or another,” said Suh, a Crimson Multimedia editor.

Erick Contreras-Rodriguez ’27, a Crimson Multimedia editor, said the Concentration Declaration Day event felt like a “reunion” for the sophomore class.

“It’s nice just seeing everyone in your class and seeing each other,” Contreras-Rodriguez said.

—Staff writer Cam N. Srivastava can be reached at cam.srivastava@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @camsrivastava.