UPDATE 1:05pm EST: Our email server is working again!
Hi all,
We’re sorry to say that we’re having technical difficulties with our email address, [email protected]. It appears that the server blackout occurred last night. Our IT department is working hard to fix the issue.
Snowmageddon 2015 is making its way to Columbia University, and Alma is ready for it. However, the rest of us aren’t 10 feet tall and made of bronze. Thus, SIPA’s Office of Admissions and Financial Aid is closed at 3 p.m. on Monday, January 26, and all day on Tuesday, January 27. We expect to resume normal operations on Wednesday, January 28.
(Photo courtesy of FIUTS.org)
To answer that question, each year communities come together on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday to serve their neighbors and cities. Monday, January 19, 2015 will mark the 21st year of the MLK Day of Service, which takes place on the third Monday in January. It’s the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service. MLK Day is a part of United We Serve, the President’s national call to service initiative, according to NationalService.gov.
Together we can help create a global community of service. In 2014, MLK Day inspired participants to help 38,000 veterans, military families and service members receive assistance, 360,000 people receive emergency food, and 58,000 children receive tutoring and mentorship services. Hopefully, our global communities will make those figures balloon this year!
If you’re interested in joining Seeple and other volunteers across the country at volunteer opportunities, visit the National Service website and enter your location under “Find a Volunteer Opportunity.” For those of you in the NYC area, there are several events taking place on Monday, including stocking bookshelves at a Washington Heights bookshop, helping a New Jersey group pack medical supplies for under-served populations, and assisting AmeriCorps members with teaching financial literacy in the East Village. Plus, you just might run into a SIPA alumn! After all, we’re pretty big on helping the world become a better place, near and far.
While you’re volunteering, don’t forget: Since MLK Day of Service is a national holiday, Columbia University and SIPA will be closed on Monday, January 19, 2015.
Our inbox count as of January 7, 2014
As you can see in the screenshot above, there have been a lot of emails coming our way this week. (Please be patient with us; we’re answering them as fast as we can.) During this process, we’ve noticed that many of you are concerned about the status of your missing materials. To help alleviate some of those concerns, we’re answering some common questions right here.
But first, if you’ve submitted your application by the fellowship deadline, you shouldn’t worry. We’ve received it and your uploaded materials. It’s just taking us some time to process the applications and match up your uploaded records to your snail-mail papers and previously emailed materials. Sadly, there’s no magical solution to this. Our admissions staff actually have to review each application by hand, so it’s taking us a while to match up transcripts, recommendation letters and test scores.
To verify we’ve received your materials, please make sure you regularly check your status page. (You may check your status by logging in to your application here.) It’s your responsibility to ensure we’ve received your materials. While checking your status page, you may have noticed a few Xs on the page. We’ll explain what they mean below.
Dario Martinez (SIPA ’15) poses with his family in Honduras. From left to right: Cinthia Martinez-Rivera, Dario Martinez, Jeffrey Berger (SIPA ‘11), Tania Martinez (SIPA ‘11) and his two nephews Sebastian and Fernando Rivera (potential recruits for 2030 and 2032).
The New Year is almost here, and we can hardly wait to see where it’ll take us and our amazing applicants! Before the countdown in this part of the world begins, we thought we’d share a note from Dario Martinez, MIA ’15, who reflects on 2014 and his first days while at SIPA:
"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
