Transfer Student: NU vs. UofC

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – Name, year, hometown, major – the standard four-part introduction at college orientation. Efficient and continuous, the introduction’s predictability can only be broken by the likes of a transfer student. Suddenly, why and from where are two more vital issues. Transfers are just inherently interesting, and at Northwestern, a transfer from the University of Chicago is the most intriguing of them all. That student goes by the name of Katherine. Sort of.

Known legally as Carolin Louise Garcia Fine, the Evanston native had her name unofficially changed to Katherine as an infant.

“Six weeks after I came home from the hospital my parents decided that Carolin just didn’t fit,” said Fine, whose government documents still say Carolin.

Her name would not be the last major change of her life. After spending her freshman year at the University of Chicago, Fine decided to transfer into Northwestern.

“I met with the head of the [Northwestern classics] department when I was considering transferring,” said Fine. “The meeting with her got me really excited about the program and made me really want to go there.”

Katherine, 19, has already become an active sophomore at Northwestern. She is the Vice President of Member Education in the Delta Gamma sorority and she works part time as a research assistant. Fine considers herself extremely physically flexible and has mastered French, Spanish, and Latin.

A student of the classics and a sucker for anything antique, her dream is to one day work as an archaeologist.

“I've wanted to be an archaeologist since I saw Indiana Jones when I was eleven,” said Fine. “There's just something so exciting about trying to answer ancient questions and solve mysteries.”

To many Northwestern students, Katherine is a mystery herself. An eyebrow seems to rise every time she explains her shift from Chicago to Northwestern, two supposed rivals in an arms race for prestige. Is Chicago really as tough as they say? Do the students really think they are better? Nearly every day she is horded with questions.

“I think that a lot of [Chicago] students tried to act like there was a big rivalry between Chicago and Northwestern, but it seemed like it was one sided on Chicago’s part,” explained Fine. “It seemed more like Chicago students were trying really hard to act like they were a lot better academically and intellectually than Northwestern, but really Northwestern is just as tough.”

Very few students have spent extended time on both sides of the Chicago-area academic battlefield. Fine has come to terms that her introduction is just going to be that much longer for the next three years.

“If Katie’s not watching a Cubs game, reading a book, shopping, or knitting, she’s probably laughing with somebody about some Northwestern night,” said fellow transfer Ruben Navarro, who came from University of California, San Diego. “I wonder if she has less work here.”