Archive for July 2012

New Student Photo Series 2012 – Post #5

Photo submissions continue to roll in for our new student photo series.  If you are an incoming student and wish to share your photos on our blog, please review this entry for details on how to submit your photos.

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Today’s photographs were submitted by Olivia Kemp, MPA Environmental Science and Policy ’13 student.

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I’m an Australian and spent the past 3 years  in Darfur, Sudan where I worked on food security.

These are Darfurian children, who have spent their whole lives in internally displaced persons (IPD) camps. These was taken in a camp during a large registration exercise where each person, regardless of age,  has their information and fingerprints electronically recorded by the UN for verification of IDP status.

 

Over 1 million people remain displaced and still depend on food aid in the region of Darfur.

   

New Student Photo Series 2012 – Post#4

Photo submissions continue to roll in for our new student photo series.  If you are an incoming student and wish to share your photos on our blog, please review this entry for details on how to submit your photos.

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The first set of photos today was submitted by Christina Hawatmeh, an incoming MIA student.

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Helen Thomas stands to honor the late Anthony Shadid (whose whole family was present) at the Gala for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s National Convention (considered to be one of the largest political and social gatherings of Arab Americans in the country).  June 21-24, 2012

 

The photo is of GSAPP students and myself meeting with the Mayor of Abween, West Bank during The Riwaq Summer Internship Program, which was held for the first time during the month of August 2011. The program, led by GSAPP Adjunct Assistant Professor, Craig Konyk, involved nine GSAPP students working on the documentation, rehabilitation, and development of the architectural heritage of Deir Ghassaneh (Bani Zeid) in the West Bank, located approximately 25 kilometers northwest of Ramallah.  I was privileged to visit and develop the internship program as CUMERC’s GSAPP Program Officer.  Photo was taken in Abween, West Bank

 

The picture is with Amr Moussa, who most recently ran for Egyptian President.  Trip Sponsorship to Cairo as a participant as a US Youth Ambassador for the First Arab Expatriates Conference entitled, “A Bridge for Communication,” hosted by Secretary General (Dec. 2010).  Photo was taken at the Arab League Headquarters, Cairo, Egypt

 

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The second set of photos was submitted by Anne Bergman, an incoming MIA student.

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This photo was taken from our hot air balloon as we drifted from our launch site in the U.A.E. over the deserts of Oman.

 

I took this photo on our final ascent to the summit of Kilimanjaro this past January.  As we rounded this bend we watched the sun rise over the massive glacier atop the mountain – phenomenal!

 

Each Sunday, U.N. Peacekeepers (primarily of Pakistani origin), would cross the border from Goma, D.R.C. to neighboring Rwanda.  On this particular Sunday, they challenged a group of European travelers to a beach volleyball match.

 

 

Summer preparation

I hope you are enjoying the photo submissions from our new first year students.   Maybe next year your photos will appear in our blog as an incoming student.  However, first you need to apply and be admitted… and also take some great photos for submission.

Don’t start the application just yet since the 2013 application will not go live until August.  So in the meantime, I suggest you use the summer to learn more about the programs by visiting fairs (we’ll be in DC on July 19 & July 20), scouring school websites, and attending campus information sessions.  You should also prep for the GRE (and TOEFL/IELTS), reconnect with a professor and/or a professional associate who can write you a glowing recommendation and of course think about why you want to pursue a Master’s degree – specifically in international affairs or public administration. This will help you formulate your thoughts and explain to the various Admissions Committees why you are ready for graduate school.  Most importantly, you should explore and experience life — so your discussions in the classroom will be richer.

If you missed it, check out Megan’s post on the July 10th about how she used her summer prior to applying to SIPA.

 

 

New Student Photo Series 2012 – Post #3

Photo submissions continue to roll in for our new student photo series.  If you are an incoming student and wish to share your photos on our blog, please review this entry for details on how to submit your photos.

 

Today’s photo submissions are from Barbara Wennerholm, an incoming MIA student.

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My sister and I in the Old Town of Stockholm, Sweden.

 

In front of the Royal Palace, Stockholm.

 

First trip to Washington, DC before living there for two years.

 

On a street in Havana, where I lived for six months.

The summer before applying to graduate school

A blog contribution by Megan Tackney, a recent SIPA graduate and former Admissions Program Assistant. (We miss you Megan!)

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It was just as hot and humid as it is now, maybe even worse. It was the beginning of summer in Washington D.C. and the women of Mintwood Place had decided to go to graduate school. I had lived in D.C. for almost 8 years and worked in advocacy at a women’s legal organization. My roommate was employed at one of the top political consulting firms in the country. Our third roommate, quite coincidentally also named Meaghan (different spelling), had moved out a year ago to go to SIPA, it was her dream school and it was all she talked about. We blame her for the higher education craze that took over our apartment.

That summer we began to prepare for the graduate school application period. I collected packets and tracked information sessions for every school I was going to apply to, a total of 7. My roommate had a Volkswagen beetle, which for some reason always smelled like crayons, and we would squeeze ourselves in, and find these events in faraway places without transportation, like Georgetown. I asked co-workers if they knew students or alumni from possible schools and if I could talk to them. I wanted to know what jobs they held now, what the student body was like and if they were regretful of anything, and if so, what?   I tried to imagine my life in every city or in some cases, small towns, which was sometimes just as important as the school’s academic program.

In addition to stalking alumni, we also had to take the GRE’s in the Fall. This meant studying and taking a test, something we hadn’t done in quite a while, but we were determined. Step 1 – We bought the prep. books. Step 2 – We made flash cards. We were going to learn 20 new words a week, which we actually did, in between some DVR sessions. Step 3 – We recognized our weaknesses. We tried doing the math practice problems together, but it wasn’t exactly successful. I got a tutor.

The schools also demanded essays – lots of them. Having the self control to write that many essays is really hard. We identified nights after work where all we would do was write and give the other creative and some terrible ideas on how we could sell ourselves to the top schools in the country.

That summer was intense and exciting. It was full of possibilities for the residents of our little apartment. With applications due in January the work continued into the Fall and included the new awkward task of asking for recommendations, which could be a blog post in itself.

In the end it was all worth it. We got into every single school we applied to and begrudgingly left each other. That was the last step in the application process, saying goodbye to our old lives and imagining the next. As I graduated last month, this is one step I have unfortunately not yet completed.

 

"The most global public policy school, where an international community of students and faculty address world challenges."

—Merit E. Janow, Dean, SIPA, Professor of Practice, International and Economic Law and International Affairs

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