If you’re hungry, I’d usually tell you to follow your nose. But if you’re craving some of the best barbecue in New York, I’d tell you to walk uptown on Broadway to 125th Street, past the bars and delis and apartments overflowing with Columbia students. Turn right, and walk between an array of Columbia’s newly built business school, science center, and event spaces. The darkness, the quiet, and a reincarnation of the iconic Cotton Club, a blues venue of Harlem Renaissance fame, should tell you: You are not on campus anymore.

When Columbia College junior Maria Martinez’s older brother was accepted into QuestBridge’s College Prep Scholars Program, she didn’t know that her family’s life was about to change. She and her brother were sharp students, and while they loved their hometown of Miami and the lively Cuban community that raised them, they were also committed to finding a collegiate environment that challenged them. They devoted themselves to finding a rigorous college despite the high cost and the fact that they would be the first in their family to pursue higher education.

It’s a late-night snack run in the throes of midterm season. Your eyes are bleary as you shuffle down the street, hunching your back against the cold while your stomach begs for the attention you’ve devoted to your brain all night. The sweet aroma of chana masala meanders its way to your nose and, as if by fate, you stumble into Roti Roll—a local takeout staple. As you stand waiting for your bundle of chicken malai, you notice music coming through a little cut-out window into the business next door. Is that … Beyoncé? “You put my love on top! Top, top, top …” You poke your head in through the shared doorway—rainbow flags drape the stage where a drag queen is serenading a diverse crowd with the chorus of Beyoncé’s classic hit.