Not Just Notes: Evan Turned Jazz and Justice Into Columbia Admission

Evan Van Brunt’s Columbia story shows how a scattered-looking résumé can become a cohesive narrative when you connect the dots with purpose. He braided jazz gigs, policy debates, and late-night notes-app ideas into an application that felt lived-in rather than engineered—then proved his voice by advocating on a national stage for translation access and against censorship. The value here isn’t just inspiration; it’s a model: organize your receipts, write the essay only you could write, and anchor your activities to something bigger than yourself so admissions sees range with a throughline, not noise.