Before the conclusion of the spring semester we asked some current SIPA students the following question: What is your number one tip for an incoming student? Click here to view a 57 second video that features answers from four of our students.
Archive for Admissions – Page 129
We still have lots of photos to post in the coming weeks so stay tuned in for more. If you have sent pictures rest assured we will get to them.
The first picture is from Siliang Zhou, an incoming MIA student.
The picture was taken in Manchester, Vermont when I was spending July 4th there.
I did a hawk-walk with my guide in the mountain to catch some rabbits. The bird standing on my arm was the hunter. It weighed only 4.5 pounds and yet was able to dive at a speed of 60 feet per second! My guide also told me if a hawk can read, it has no problem reading newspaper from 100 yards away. But the thing that fascinates me about the animal is that its nature is WILD no matter how long it’s been caged. It never becomes attached to human like cats and dogs. That’s why they never set them out without starving them first.
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The next three photos come from Stig Arild Pettersen, a 26 year-old incoming MIA student from Norway.
From June to October 2007 I worked as a sailing coach for youth in Burma (Myanmar) in South East Asia. Living and working in Yangon, the largest city in this country under military authoritarian rule, was an experience I will never forget.
Inle Lake in Burma’s Shan State is a real Water World. I was enormously impressed by the balance shown by local kids and fishermen alike, handling their fishing nets in the gusty winds while standing on only one leg at the bow of their narrow canoes.
Hiking in the Shan hills above Inle Lake, I came across these novise monks belonging to the Pa-O people. As my Pa-O is nothing to brag about, communication was at a low until I gave them my SLR to play with.
My friend Colm from England and I try to communicate with local Burmese at a cafe in Pakokku, a small town in the central part of the country. We were joking around and singing songs to each other in our mother tongues. We had gone to Pakokku after rumours had come out about monks marching in the streets, protesting against the brutal treatment of monks by the local police. Moments later, we found ourselves being probably the first Westerners to observe what would turn out to be the largest international media happening of that fall, the unrest and government crackdown that left tens of innocent Burmese dead. Trying to take photos of the monks, we where rapidly stopped by plain clothed security personnel and escorted on the ferry out of town.
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The final photo for today is from Libby Abbott, an incoming MIA student.
Rupandehi District, Nepal
A woman from the terai (plains) region of southern Nepal balances a copper water jug on her hip. This kind of regular, heavy work performed by women contributes to high rates of uterine prolapse, a reproductive health morbidity that can cause a lifetime of physical and social suffering.
The first three pictures today come from Eileen Liu, an incoming MIA student.
The first was taken in Banff, Alberta, Canada. This picture captures the two things that the word “Alberta” brings most often to my mind: the beautiful Rocky Mountains and the province’s wealth of oil.
The second picture was taken in a rural village in Kenya. Most pictures of children in Africa show them with somber faces staring with melancholy eyes into the camera. But this pictures shows that laughter, smiles and enthusiastic thumbs-ups are also a very large part of their lives.
The last was taken in Tokyo, Japan. Although cherry blossoms are an annual phenomenon in Japan, the locals still flock to these public parks every year to admire the beautiful flowers.
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The next three photos come from N. E. “Rudy” Rickner, an admitted MIA student.
July, 2002. Chuuk Islands, FSM. While most of the military was busy elsewhere in 2002, my squadron was assigned to “reach out” to the remote populations of the south Pacific. We landed on about 20 remote islands. This group of islands is Chuuk (formerly known as Truk) which is part of the Fed. States of Micronesia.
July, 2002. Chuuk Islands, FSM. Mostly impoverished and isolated from technology, these children from Chuuk enthusiastically welcomed us. I still can’t quite grasp the contrast of worlds that collided when we arrived, yet we enjoyed warm welcomes and well wishes from everyone we encountered.
February, 2006. Ramadi, Iraq. I took this picture on a foot patrol through the central market area of Ramadi, Iraq. I was unaware of the contrast I captured when I snapped it. While the young Marine is focused and aware of the danger he is in, the old man sits calmly smoking his cigarette. He has an expression that conveys a tired understanding. Unlike the Marine with the weapon, he doesn’t feel threatened at all.
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The next two photos come from Massimiliano Costa, incoming MIA student.
The first photo was taken in Baku, Azerbaijan. This photo was taken during the summer of 2008 in an oil field located a few miles from the city of Baku, on the Caspian Sea. This was the only blade of grass in that wasteland.
The second photo was taken in Xinjiang, China. In the desert between China and Kazakhstan, this peaceful lake lies in a valley still inhabited by nomadic people.
If you are an incoming or current SIPA student living in Mexico City you have the opportunity to get together with other students from SIPA prior to the start of the fall semester. I recently received an inquiry from an incoming student living in Mexico City, Celcilia, who has an interest in getting together with other students in the area. The following is her message:
If you are from Mexico City and will be attending Columbia next fall this message is for you.
My name is Cecilia and I will be attending SIPA. I am planning a reunion for future Columbia Mexican Students in Mexico City before we all leave to NYC in order to get to know each other and to exchange experiences about different issues such as housing, travel, phone company etc.
If you are interested, please send an email to cf2389 [at] columbia.edu
Thanks!
Cecilia
If other students wish to have similar messages posted to the blog for public consumption please send a message to the Office of Admissions at [email protected].
The first three photos today come from Beatriz Guillen, an incoming MIA student.
I have been living in Caracas for almost three years. Venezuela is an amazing country, full of contrasts that I would like to show you through some of the pictures I have taken. The first one is from Salto Angel in Canaima, the highest water fall in the world.
The second one is a “parking boat” in a small beach town, called Choroní.
The third one is swimming in the paradisiacal Isla Tortuga.
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The next two photos come from Sofia Fernandez del Castillo, an incoming MPA student.
These pictures were taken during a pilot program done in a community in the metropolitan area of Mexico City that consisted in the recuperation of social ties through the implementation of workshops, color in the facades and neighborhood upgrading. The evidence demonstrates that color has a positive direct impact in people´s lives. I believe these pictures reflect the motivation of the community -specially children- to rescue public spaces and are evidence of the sprawling of cities and irregular settlements in Mexico.
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The last two photos come from incoming MIA student Sarah Bilson.
Location: A village outside of Vélingara, Senegal (July, 2007)
Description: Young girls dance in a celebration commemorating the village’s abandonment of female genital mutilation.
Location: Aley, Lebanon
Description: This picture captures a night view of Beirut from the mountain town of Aley in Lebanon. Sitting in the quite, serene village we could see Beirut rocking below us.
"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
