During the early portion of the fall of 2010 I published a series of entries providing notes on things to consider when contacting our office, looking for information, and when applying.  In order to have a single reference point, I decided to combine all of these entries into a single entry.

What you see below are links to the 10 posts.  If you have yet to review the list, I highly recommend doing so. All of the information will help to ensure that we are able to assist you in the best manner possible and that you will be able to submit your application smoothly.

Number 1 – Always use the same email address when communicating with our office – this includes the email you use when you submit your application

Number 2 – Avoid Unnecessarily Creating a Duplicate Online Application

Number 3 – Avoid copying several parties on the same email and avoid long emails

Number 4 – Thoroughly review our FAQ Page

Number 5 – When leaving a voice mail message speak slowly, clearly, and state your telephone number twice

Number 6 – If you must mail something to our office, use a private mail courier

Number 7 – Check out our student, alumni, faculty, staff interview page

Number 8 – Familiarize Yourself with Expenses and Start searching for fellowhips/grants as soon as possible!

Number 9 – Attend an information session or recruitment event

Number 10 – Subscribe to this blog!

The following was a message passed on to the SIPA community by Dean John Coatsworth.

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I am pleased to announce that in response to growing student interest, SIPA’s Energy and Environment Concentration has launched a new, third track in Sustainable Energy Policy.  This new track will be directed by Adjunct Professor Ellen Morris, who has taught highly popular and successful energy courses at SIPA for several years, and who also has assumed the role of Director of the existing track in International Energy Management and Policy
(IEMP) in the Energy and Environment Concentration.

SIPA is highly fortunate — and I am personally grateful — that Professor Morris has agreed to undertake this critical leadership role in our teaching and curriculum development of energy policy and finance.  I am confident she
will provide students of the energy tracks with the perfect blend of academic insight and practical experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors.

The new Sustainable Energy Policy track focuses on the national and international policies and practices aimed at ensuring a sustainable energy future, with a particular focus on policies and practices that support
small-scale energy production and enterprise development.  The IEMP track, which launched in Fall 2009, will continue to focus on energy development and production, particularly large-scale infrastructure projects that
involve extensive interaction between the private and public sectors for energy management and policy.  SIPA’s Energy and Environment Concentration, which is directed by Professor Steven Cohen, also includes the Environment
track, which focuses on the policy and management knowledge required to address the world’s most pressing environmental sustainability issues.

Professor Morris co-teaches with Philip LaRocco the much in-demand, two-semester sequence, “Energy Business and Economic Development” and “Capstone Workshop in Energy and Development.”  She is the founder and
president of Sustainable Energy Solutions, a consultancy providing research and policy analysis on the role of energy in international development, and a co-founder and Board Member of Arc Finance, a non-profit organization that
facilitates financing for modern energy, water and other basic needs for people in developing countries.  Professor Morris previously served as a senior consultant for sustainable energy programs at the United Nations
Development Program and as an analyst on international programs for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  Ellen holds a Ph.D. in marine geophysics from the University of Rhode Island and a Bachelor’s degree in
geophysical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.

Both energy tracks will continue to collaborate with the Center for Energy, Marine Transportation and Public Policy, which conducts policy analysis and applied research on energy issues and is directed by Albert Bressand,
Professor of Professional Practice.

The following post is credited to SAlex Burnett, SIPA’s Communications Officer.

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As part of SIPA’s ongoing effort to share the extraordinary work of its students, the School conducted a contest earlier this year calling for videos from students spending their summer in the field.

Kettie Jean Klefeker (MIA ’11) wins a new video camcorder for her video exhibiting her work with young refugees and orphans in Tibet and Nepal. Klefeker is a second-year student from Haiti, concentrating in Economic and Political Development. She says her work helped her gain greater insight and knowledge about the inner-workings of such homes for children.

The new video recorder will allow her to continue to show how her SIPA education is making a difference around the world. SIPA encourages all students to document and share their incredible stories through photos or video, and is now beginning to loan video cameras to students heading into the field.

Klefeker’s video and additional student submissions will be used to demonstrate SIPA’s commitment to educating the policy advocates and analysts of tomorrow.

Please share this announcement with individuals who may be interested in the Rangel Graduate Fellowship.  More information is available at www.rangelprogram.org.

The Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program is now accepting applications for its 2011 graduate fellowships.  The Rangel Program seeks applicants who are interested in promoting positive change in the world as Foreign Service Officers for the U.S. Department of State.  The fellowship is open to undergraduate seniors and recent graduates who want to begin two-year master’s programs in the fall of 2011.

In March 2011, the program will select twenty Rangel Fellows who will receive up to $90,000 in benefits over two years to fund tuition, mandatory fees, and living expenses for completion of two-year master’s degrees, as well as summer internships to promote professional development.  Fellows may use the fellowship to fund graduate studies of international affairs or a related subject such as public administration, business administration or public policy at U.S. universities.  Those who successfully complete the program will receive appointments as Foreign Service Officers upon graduation, embarking on one of the most exciting and rewarding careers.

Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship, plans to enter graduate school in fall 2011, and a minimum 3.2 GPA.  The program encourages the application of members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service and those with financial need.  The application deadline is January 21, 2011.  Additional information about the Rangel Program and specific application requirements are available at www.rangelprogram.org.

The Rangel Program is managed by the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University and funded by the U.S. Department of State.  It seeks to promote excellence and diversity in the U.S. Foreign Service.

Contacts:

Patricia Scroggs                                               Erica Lee

Director                                                              Program Assistant

pscroggs@howard.edu

rangelprogram@howard.edu

erlee@howard.edu

202-806-4367 or 877-633-0002

This is the tenth and final entry in our “Top 10″ list for you to consider when communicating with our office and applying.

Number 10 – Subscribe to this blog!

The best way to stay up-to-date regarding matters of admission is to subscribe to this blog.  Yes the SIPA Web site is a great source of information and you should familiarize yourself with it, but for the most part the Web site is static and is rarely updated.  We try to update it as needed, but the blog is much more informative as far as the day-to-day things going on in our office.

Over in the right menu there is an empty box with “Subscribe” written below it.  Simply enter your email and each and every time this blog is updated, you will receive an email message letting you know here is new content.

Why is it a good idea to subscribe?  Well for one we try to monitor common questions and post answers to the site for mass consumption.  Two, this is your window into the admission cycle.  We will update you on what is going on in our office.  And finally, this is a great way to find out more about what is going on at SIPA and to learn about fellowship opportunities.  You can consider this to be the most interactive Web space concerning matters of admission and financial aid.

The following post is credited to second-year student Sawako Sonoyama.

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First-Year Retreats at SIPA

Not sure what your concentration should be? It may be confusing to know which concentration is right for you during the application stage. However, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to learn about all of the different concentrations at the beginning of your first semester before you have to decide. One perfect way to explore if a concentration is right for you is to go on a Retreat.

Every year during the first month of the Fall semester, almost all of the Concentrations, Specializations, and Specific Degree Programs will offer a Retreat for first-year students. There are so many retreats to choose from! In one weekend, a SIPA first-year must decide between the International Finance and Economic Policy (IFEP) retreat , the United Nations Study Program (UNSP) retreat, or the Energy and Environment Retreat. These retreats have many objectives: to convince those who are uncertain about their path, to make new friends amongst those who are interested, to introduce the faculty and advisors involved, and to create your family at SIPA.

It is true that your concentration becomes somewhat of your family during your 2-year life at SIPA and I was able to find this family through my concentration retreat.  As an Economic and Political Development (EPD) student, going to the EPD retreat last year was one of the best decisions I made. Looking back, I made the majority of my SIPA friends this weekend at the EPD retreat. We still laugh about the inside jokes and the corky activities we shared from that weekend. (Can’t tell you what we did exactly, don’t want to ruin the surprise!)

EPD Retreat 2009

Recently I had the pleasure of going on the EPD retreat again as a second year. I was chosen to help organize the retreat by creating community building activities, facilitating discussions, and answering a lot of “first-year” questions.  I was pleasantly surprised that I actually could give some advice, considering just a year ago I was lost and clueless about what courses, concentrations, etc.  It is quite incredible how much we learned in one short year and also scary that we will be graduating next spring.

Overall, it was nostalgic and wonderful to return back to where we started as EPD students just a year ago. I am happy to have made a lot of first-year friends while reconnecting with my 2^nd year EPD friends. From what we could observe, the first-years seem to have had a great time and successfully created their family as well. I hope that they loved the EPD retreat as much as I did,  and encourage all future SIPA students to go on at least one retreat when they arrive to SIPA.

EPD Retreat 2010—2^nd years

Each year SIPA is proud to partner with several organizations to assist students with paying for school.  One of the programs we partner with is The Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship.  This fellowship focuses on individuals that are interested in working for the U.S. Department of State and are applying to graduate programs.

There is another program available to undergraduate students called the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship.  SIPA is proud to partner with both divisions of this fellowship program.

The following article was contributed by SIPA student Timothy Shenk.

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Four SIPA students have been named Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellows and are preparing to work in the U.S. Foreign Service. Just 20 graduate Pickering Fellowships were awarded this year, more to SIPA students than any other school.

SIPA’s four Fellows are Keondra Bills (MDP ’12), Amanda Buescher (MPA ’12), Karina Gabriela Garcia (MIA ’12), and Jane Park (MPA ’12).

The fellowships were awarded this spring by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation and are funded by the State Department. Pickering Fellows pursue two years of study in fields such as international affairs, political science, economics and foreign languages. They also complete two internships with the State Department, including one at a U.S. embassy.

In exchange, Fellows commit to work for three years as Foreign Service officers, which is contingent upon passing the Foreign Service exam.

According to Park, the Pickering Fellowship is an ideal award for students interested in pursuing a career in the Foreign Service. She is concentrating in international finance and economic policy at SIPA and hopes to work in international trade negotiations.

“Representing the U.S. internationally is something that I always found admirable,” she said.

Garcia said she hopes to work for the State Department on human rights issues in Africa or Latin America. She chose to attend SIPA because of its human rights concentration.

“I definitely felt like the program here was a better fit,” she said. “It’s very flexible and interdisciplinary.”

Four second-year SIPA students are also Pickering Fellows: Kristofer Clark (MIA ’11), Caitlyn Finley (MIA ’11), Kahina Robinson (MIA ’11), and Miriam Schive (MIA ’11).

The Pickering Fellowships are named for Thomas R. Pickering, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1989 to 1992.

I wanted to provide a quick update for those that have submitted an application for spring 2011 admission consideration.  As you know, the deadline for spring admission passed on October 1st.  We have spent the weeks since the deadline assembling applications and plan on sending out update emails soon – not decision emails, but update emails.

Not to get too much into details, but we have changed our processing system this year and also have some new staff on board.  We are thus on a bit of a learning curve but overall things are going as expected.  We are on the schedule we set but are still ironing out our communications.  This has no impact on when we plan on releasing decisions, I just wanted to let you know that if you applied for spring and have not heard from us there is no need to panic, things are moving along nicely.

We print each application and then meticulously review each document to verify completion and readability.  Most applications are complete when submitted, it just takes us time to verify everything. When your application has been individually reviewed for completion, you will receive an email.   So the first email you will receive will have to do with the status of your file.

After the Admissions Committee has reviewed all of the applications and made final decisions, we will input this information into the system and applicants will receive an email with instructions on logging into the system to view the decision letter.  Thank you for your patience and we look forward to completing the review process.

This is the ninth entry in our “Top 10″ list for you to consider when communicating with our office and applying.

Number 9 – Attend an information session or recruitment event.

While I realize not everyone can make it to New York, if you can the best way to obtain information is to attend an information session.  If you live nearby or are visiting New York this is probably the best way to learn about our programs and how to put together a competitive application.  Due to the large number of visitors and our small staff we are unable to arrange walk in appointments.  You are always welcome to visit and someone will assist you, however we are rarely able to provide extensive individual counseling appointments.

If you would like to schedule an information session, which are held every Monday at 6pm and every Friday at 12pm excluding holidays, it is best to send an email to sipa_admission@columbia.edu and then we can confirm the session with you.

We also attend recruitment events in the U.S. and abroad.  You can view our fall 2010 recruitment schedule by clicking here.  However, you are always welcome to come to the office during business hours and ask a few questions or obtain information.

When filling out your admission application to SIPA you will notice a section labeled “International Fellows Program” (IFP). Applying to become an International Fellow at SIPA is optional.  This means that it is not a requirement that you submit an essay as part of your admission application.  Not submitting an IFP essay will have no impact on the decision of the Admissions Committee in any way.

However, the IFP program is an outstanding opportunity to shape your future in a unique way and I believe it is worth the time to submit an essay as part of your admission application.  Below is a short video that provides insight into this truly exceptional opportunity.

This is the seventh entry in our recap of summer internships completed by SIPA students working in the Admissions Office this year.  This time we hear from Lacey Ramirez, a second-year MIA student pursuing a concentration in Economic and Political Development with a specialization in Advanced Policy and Economic Analysis.

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I am very grateful that there is an internship requirement in the SIPA curriculum.  It forced me to take the time to seek out a professional experience in my field, whereas I otherwise would have taken a lovely summer vacation somewhere.  In the end this will make me a stronger professional candidate when it comes time to apply for a job after I complete my Master’s program.

When I was narrowing down the type of summer internship I wanted, I decided that I wanted to do international development consulting at a private firm.  This was an area of the development world that I had no prior exposure to, and I was very curious to encounter what it was like. In securing this position, I learned the essential value of networking.  It was by networking that I was able to make a contact at the private firm called Chemonics and have my résumé considered.

Chemonics is an international development consulting firm.  They mainly contract with USAID, and they are implementing and managing projects in all the major sectors in every major region of the world.  It was a very exciting opportunity, as it was a paid internship and would also give me the consulting/program management opportunity that I eagerly sought.

My internship was based in D.C. (sadly I didn’t get to go overseas), and my assignments were to work on three project teams.  One of the projects was working on public-private partnerships in the Philippines to increase the access to and sustainability reproductive health and family planning care.  Another project was a value-chain linkages project in Bangladesh, and the last project was a financial sector information sharing project.  I was not intimately involved in the creation or technical management of the projects, but I did learn a lot about program management and the many administrative/client relation tasks that go into project it.

I had many tasks and duties that required a high level of effort and multi-tasking, and most of my tasks were administrative in nature.  Some of my daily tasks included: budgeting, auditing, client/consultant relations, editing project deliverables, and grant program development.

Chemonics also provided several training courses to orient employees to the firm and the different work being done in the field.  I also had great relationships with my directors who have been practitioners in the field for many years, and they took the time to talk with me about how I might meet my career aspirations and goals.

Over all I had a great internship experience.  It definitely helped me to further articulate where I want to work in the field of development, and what knowledge and skills I would need to get there.  It also gave me a greater perspective of the type of job opportunities in my field.

I am not what you would call an avid follower of The Simpsons television show, however I do watch it occasionally and have always been impressed with the way the creators integrate “real” people into episodes.

Recently I received an email from an alumnus of our program notifying me that a SIPA faculty member was mentioned in an episode.  Jagdish Bhagwati is professor at SIPA and from what I understand, what you see below is a ballot created on the show to help guess the winners of Nobel prizes.  One SIPA professor, Joseph Stiglitz, actually did win the Nobel Prize in economics in 2001.

Many students at SIPA are interested in the use of media as it relates to policy objectives.  This interest is met through our specialization in International Media, Advocacy, and Communications (IMAC).

Adjunct SIPA professor Craig Duff, who teaches in SIPA’s IMAC specialization, recently won an Emmy.  He shares an Emmy for his work at TIME – three online videos called the Iconic Photo series.

The following comes from the Letter from the Editor section of TIME:

TIME has a long history of innovation in visual media — which continues to this day. In 1937 we won an Oscar for our March of Time newsreels. On Sept. 27, 2010, we won an Emmy in the new digital documentary category, for three online videos called the Iconic Photo series.

The series was produced and edited by Craig Duff, TIME.com’s director of multimedia, who accepted the award alongside photographer Anthony Suau, whose image of a young man hammering at the Berlin Wall in 1989 was the subject of one of the videos.

“The idea,” Duff says, “is to bring famous images to life in a new medium, with the same attention to reporting and storytelling that we have always been known for.”

This is the sixth entry in our recap of summer internships completed by SIPA students working in the Admissions Office this year.  Carrie Dorn is a dual degree student pursuing her Masters in Public Administration and Social Work.  This is her third year at Columbia University and she is focusing her studies at SIPA in the Management and Urban/Social Policy tracks.

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My summer interning in New York City unexpectedly turned into my own exploration of the city, social policy and my future career goals.  I knew that summer in NYC would include sticky weather and suffocating subway stations, but also the fun of sidewalk cafes, free outdoor movies and festivals galore.  While many SIPA students started packing their bags for summer internships and vacations abroad in May, I buckled down and focused on my search for a NYC government internship– an inevitably slow process, that had started months before.   At what felt like the last possible moment, I was interviewing for a few internship positions at three different agencies.  At last, in the midst of final exams, I secured a position working at the New York City Department of Homeless Services assisting the Director of Executive Projects and Operations.

Luckily, I was very familiar with the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS).  In my Urban Politics course I had analyzed the agency’s funding sources, policy initiatives, and budget allocations in a 30 page paper.  From an outside, academic perspective, I had my own thoughts and recommendations about how DHS could improve their programs and functioning.  Little did I know that I would get the opportunity to contribute to the change process myself.

In my internship I was able to see the whole spectrum of programming at DHS.  At first I was assigned some of the intern tasks that I had anticipated such as compiling data and proofreading reports.  One day out of the week I traded the commute to Wall St. to venture up to the Bronx, at the central intake office for homeless families called Prevention Assistance and Temporary Housing (PATH).  There I saw the challenges of managing a 24-7 operation where more than 100 families each day come to request emergency shelter.  I studied up on the legal shelter eligibility guidelines and counseled homeless and at-risk families via the PATH hotline to best direct them to community resources.

I also assisted with preparations for the second year of Advantage Academy, a joint program between DHS and St. John’s University, that offers a fully subsidized Associate Degree to those in the NYC shelter system.  I had the chance to welcome the new student cohort and brainstorm how to improve retention rates, student outcomes and support systems.

Then, the internship blossomed into something bigger for me when I had the opportunity to sit in on meetings about the functionality and design of a case management system that is advancing the way that DHS operates and interfaces with other agencies.  I learned about implementation of this system, from stakeholder collaboration to the logistics of training employees.   In meetings, the voices of my professors would sometimes echo in my head as I watched how the concepts of organizational culture, regulation, federalism and accountability unfolded in real time.

I couldn’t have anticipated a better summer experience, becoming familiar with the process and challenges of city government.  My internship at DHS confirmed my interest in wanting to administer and develop social programs in the future and it also sparked my appetite for more knowledge about how to effectively run organizations.  By the end of August, I had scrapped my plans to take fun electives and instead signed up for cost-benefit analysis, human resource management and law for non-profit managers.  Now that the summer months have quickly transitioned into the school year, sometimes I do imagine the type of “field work” I that could have accomplished in some exotic beach locale, but all in all it was very rewarding to have braved city life in an NYC summer .

Top flight events are a mainstay at SIPA.  For some evidence, check out what is happening this Monday.  The good news is that if you wish to participate from your computer, you can.  See the end of this entry for details on how to view the event live.

Prospects for 21st Century African Agriculture

Time: Monday, 6:30 pm

Type: Discussion

Moderator(s):

Mamadou Diouf
Professor of History, Director Institute for African Studies
Committee on Global Thought
Columbia University

Speaker(s):

Kofi Annan
Former Secretary General
United Nations

Jeffrey Sachs
Director, The Earth Institute
The Earth Institute

Program Notes:

It is widely recognized that agricultural development can play a key role in eliminating hunger, reducing poverty and food insecurity, increasing trade, and promoting wealth in Africa.  However, the full potential of African agriculture is far from being realized.  Part of the 2010-2011 World and Africa Series, this panel seeks to explore the possibilities for boosting the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of African agriculture in the 21st century.  It will consider those cutting edge programs, policies, and technologies that are paving new roads forward with regard to unleashing the full potential of the continent’s agricultural economies.

Kofi Annan was the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, serving two terms from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006 and was the first to emerge from the ranks of United Nations staff. In 2001 Kofi Annan and the United Nations were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace with the citation praising his leadership for “bringing new life to the organisation”. In 2009, Annan was named a Columbia Global Fellow by University President Lee Bollinger.

Jeffrey Sachs is the Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is also Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. From 2002 to 2006, he was Director of the UN Millennium Project and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals.

This event is co-sponsored with The Earth Institute.

This event can also be viewed via live webcast.

Real:

http://www.columbia.edu/acis/networks/advanced/events/live.ram

Windows Media:

http://akami.cc.columbia.edu/asxgen/wmtencoder/live.wmv.asx

We were recently notified of a wonderful fellowship opportunity.  Please read below for details on the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship program.  The deadline is November 1st so act quickly if you qualify.

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The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships are for up to two years of graduate study in ANY FIELD at any university in the United States.   They provide cash support of $25,000 per year plus up to $20,000 in tuition support per year (a total of as much as $90,000 over the two years!).

THE DEADLINE for applications is November 1, 2010.

ELIGIBILITY:

New Americans:   if born abroad, an applicant must have a green card or be a naturalized citizen.

If born in the US, the applicant’s parents both must have been born abroad and have become naturalized US citizens (the absent parent of an applicant raised by a single parent need not meet the naturalization requirement).

Age:

An applicant must be 30 or under (i.e. not 31 or older) as of November 1, 2010.

Academic status:

An applicant must have a bachelor’s degree or at least be in his/her final year of undergraduate study.

If already in graduate study, an applicant should be in the first or second year of a degree program for which she/he is seeking support.

Prior graduate training is not a barrier to eligibility.  Individuals who are not currently in a graduate program are welcome and encouraged to apply.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

We seek individuals who have demonstrated unusual creativity, originality and initiative in one or more aspects of their lives who have demonstrated a commitment to and capacity for sustained accomplishment whose graduate plans or program give promise of enhancing their future creativity and accomplishment who seem likely to sustain their past record of creativity and accomplishment.

We try very hard to create a “level playing field” for applicants, irrespective of the challenges and opportunities they may have experienced as New Americans.   We take into account their age, their level of academic preparation, and their experience.

The program website, http://www.pdsoros.org contains detailed information about the application process.   It also provides background sketches of current fellows and alumni who are pursuing careers in a wide range of fields.

Truly creative and accomplished young people should not be discouraged from applying just because they do not come from elite schools, or do not have stellar grades or test scores, or don’t want to study medicine or law.   We WELCOME AND ENCOURAGE applicants from a wide range of backgrounds with a wide range of career goals.

Nor should truly creative and accomplished young people be discouraged from applying just because they are already reasonably assured of adequate support to complete their graduate study.  A number of wonderful fellows have found that the sense of community that develops among New Americans, the great opportunities associated with the Fall Conferences of Fellows, the regional get-togethers, participation in selecting subsequent classes of fellows, and the prestige of the award turn out to be of greater importance and value than its cash value.

This is the eighth entry in our “Top 10″ list for you to consider when communicating with our office and applying.

Number 8 – Familiarize Yourself with Expenses and Start searching for fellowhips/grants as soon as possible!

Yes, there is no doubt about it, graduate school is expensive.  We will do as much as we can to educate you on financial options, but by far the number one thing you can do is to be diligent in searching for fellowships and grants.  Do not wait to search until you have applied, you should start the search long before applying.  Each applicant should follow what I call the “rule of 2.”  Basically my assertion is that applicants should spend twice as much time applying for fellowships as time spent working on admission application.  If it takes you 10 hours to prepare your admission application, you would be well served to spend 20 hours looking for fellowships.  A great resource to get to use in order to get started is our external fellowship database.

Most of the information you need concerning the cost to attend is available on our Web site, such as cost of attendance, types of aid, scholarship information, and information specifically for international students.  Please do note that SIPA scholarships come from one general pool – there is no difference in the fellowship award process at SIPA for domestic and international students – all students are equally considered no matter the country of origin.

This is the fifth entry in our recap of summer internships completed by SIPA students working in the Admissions Office this year.  Beatriz Guillén is a second year student concentrating in Economic and Political Development. 

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How to do an Internship, get married, and go on your honeymoon in the same summer

I am originally from Spain but have worked and studied in Italy, Mexico and Venezuela, which can be a prototypical profile of a SIPA student. This summer I add an additional international component to my life, and married a Salvadorian Dow Jones correspondent who, oddly enough, is also at SIPA doing a dual degree with the Journalism school.

But I also had time to do my internship. I worked for Enterprise Solutions to Poverty (ESP) an organization based in New York City that mobilizes leading corporations and emerging entrepreneurs to build competitive and inclusive growth strategies that engage large numbers of low-income people as suppliers, distributors and consumers. ESP’s goal is to support companies in increasing the income and assets of over of low-income people. I started working at ESP a few hours a week since last February, and then began working full time during the summer.

While working at ESP I focused on agribusiness, decentralized distribution, financial products and profitable social services. Over the last four years, ESP has mobilized the leaders of over 150 large companies and entrepreneurs in India, China, Mexico and Colombia, with activities initiated in Kenya and Brazil. Part of my work at ESP included:

• Working on a range of rural finance initiatives in China, including work with China Mobile and the Agricultural Bank of China on building out rural payments and banking in China.
• Developed fruit and vegetable initiatives with leading agribusinesses in Colombia.
• Was part of the team that worked with Novartis in financing rural health providers in Novartis’ massive Arogya Parivar rural health initiative in India.

For someone that had never worked before in the United States, working in New York was a challenging experience. Moreover, working in development with the private sector gave me a new perspective on how to tackle with development problems and find innovative solutions.  I didn’t have the opportunity to travel during my internship, but since I worked with Colombia, China, and India I sometimes had to adjust my working hours to those of our partners in different countries!

Overall, I can say that the experience was great and helped me a lot in my career.

Although I didn’t travel with my internship, I traveled to my hometown, Barcelona (Spain), as I said, to get married. Yes, it is possible to combine your personal life with your studies and with an internship. I started working in my internship in February so that I could take a month of for the wedding and the honeymoon. The wedding was great with people from all around the world. After the wedding we flew to Sicily and spent a couple of weeks traveling around the island enjoying the food and visiting ancient Greek ruins, medieval towns and enjoying the beaches.

These are some of the pictures from the trip to Sicily.

San Vito Lo Capo

Agrigento

Monreale Monastery

This is the seventh entry in our “Top 10″ list for you to consider when communicating with our office and applying.

Number 7 – Check out our student, alumni, faculty, staff interview page.

One of the most common questions we get is from prospective students that wish to speak with alumni, students, or faculty. The top priority of our faculty is to work with current students and they often are unable to respond to the high volume of email requests. We generally reserve contact with our alumni to current students for the same reason – sheer volume.

We do have student volunteers but their top priority is to focus on their studies and professional development. We do our best to put applicants in touch with current students but often this takes a bit of time and coordination.

However, you can hear from students, alumni, staff, and faculty by visiting our interview page. We have text and video interviews available and we continually try to add new content. This is a great way to hear directly from those with experience in our programs without having to wait.

This is the fourth entry in our recap of summer internships completed by SIPA students working in the Admissions Office this year.  Erisha Suwal is a second-year SIPA student from Nepal. She is pursuing an MPA degree with a concentration in Economic and Political Development and a specialization in Advanced Policy and Economic Analysis.

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Internship with Search for Common Ground in Nepal

This summer I interned with Search for Common Ground (SFCG) in Nepal. Search for Common Ground is an international non-governmental organization that works in conflict transformation and peacebuilding. I knew about SFCG because a friend worked there. But, I found out about the internship opportunity through SIPALink. After two interviews, I succeeded in getting the internship. My experiences in diverse cultural settings, language and writing skills and deep interest in SFCG’s work helped me get the internship.

Nepal’s peace process started in 2008 after a decade long civil war. As someone interested in development, I realized that effective development could not happen without moving beyond the post-conflict situation. At the same time, lack of development or rather unequal development was among the many reasons that contributed to conflict. I wanted to learn about conflict transformation and peacebuilding and its relation to development. I also wanted to gain more grassroots experience and see more of Nepal.

The first month was a crash course on conflict transformation and community peacebuilding. Attending trainings and workshops that SFCG gave to its partner organizations, local political leaders and youth active in their communities; I gained theoretical knowledge on conflict analysis and transformation. I learned how SFCG’s produces radio shows and now a TV show as means for peacebuilding.  Once acclimatized, I worked on compiling information for the first draft of SFCG’s annual report. I collected case studies and success stories.

The highlight of my internship was the final month. I was based in Lahan, a highway town in southeastern Nepal. I was responsible for researching on ways to enhance young women’s role in peacebuilding and to recommend possible strategies and ideas to be used in SFCG’s future programs with women in peacebuilding. Majority of the women in southeastern Nepal are Madheshis, a marginalized group treated as second-class citizens, much like immigrants in the United States, until their movement in 2007. I was also responsible for assisting in organizational capacity building for Samagra Jana Utthan Kendra, SFCG’s implementing partner.

To give a sense of my day in the field in Lahaan: Wake up at 7 a.m. Drink black tea with Tulsi leaves and black pepper. Talk to   my host sister about the situation of women is Lahaan or other gossip.  Have lunch at 10 a.m. Walk about 15 minutes to Samagra by crossing a stream dotted with shadowy figures defecating and passing a vegetable bazaar. Read newspapers and talk about Nepali politics. Once everybody drops in, confirm on the plan made for the day since plans change very fast. Select villages to visit. Arrange for a mode of transportation. Once in the villages, gather women for a focus group discussion. Talk to them about   what they think women’s rights is, or what women’s role in peacebuilding should be, or why women are not allowed to leave their homes. There can be heated debates between the mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, which often is when the truth comes out. Listen to stories. After talking to the women, talk to men including village elders. Return to the office. Drink tea. Debrief with Samgra’s staff on the day’s happenings. Plan a new strategy for approaching women for the next field visit.

Dalit mother and daughter in Lahan, Siraha