Archive for Columbia University – Page 52

New Student Photo Series 2011 – Post #2

Today we continue our incoming student photo series.  The first set of photos are from John Stinson, an incoming MIA student.

– – – – – – –

Here are a few photos I pulled out of my quasi-archives.  I took them all on a very finicky point and shoot about four or five years ago.  The first two are from my days living in Egypt, at a soccer game, and driving through an industrial section of Alexandria, respectively.

– – – – – – –

This last one is from hitchhiking along the southern coast of the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland.  I’m not going to win a Pulitzer any time soon, but these bring back good memories 🙂

– – – – – – –

The next set of photos was submitted by Huang Hongxiang, an incoming MPA-DP student.
– – – – – – –

I love trekking! April in 2010, I went to Malaysia alone to adventure in its biggest rainforest in Asia. I took the first two photos in a small village in an almost aboriginal small village there – Taman Negara National Park.  The man in pictures was showing me how to use this weapon to hunt.

– – – – – – –

During that trip I not only visited villages like this but also explored other exciting places like cave full of bats where my guide and I accidentally ran into a snake and had to creep ahead under it carefully.

New Student Photo Series 2011 – Post #1

Today the blog kicks of the third annual new student summer photo series.  We welcome incoming students to submit photos and details about how to do so and what to include can be found in this entry.  It does take us a bit of time to post photos so if you do not see yours, rest assured we will work them into the rotation.  Thanks!

This first set of photos was submitted by Cindy Hollenberg, an incoming MPA student.  All photos were taken in Guatemala (2009).
– – – – – – –
The first two photos attached were taken in a small town (Almolonga)  outside of Quetzaltenango (aka Xelaju) at a parade for their annual  festival honoring their patron saint.

The Alomonga Queen and her King – note the traditional dress of the  Mayan people.


Alomonga parade – little boys show off their “step.”  Interesting  to note the cowboy flavor (but a formal variety) of these little guys’ costumes.


I worked at a women’s cooperative in Quetzaltenango for a couple of  weeks, where I learned traditional weaving.  This is me weaving a scarf  for my partner.  I 32 inch by 6 inch scarf took me about 22 hours to  complete – and that was AFTER the women at the cooperative set up the  loom for me!  Nice ones produced by the women there cost about US $8.  They can make one scarf in a day.  A big problem with the work is back  problems.

– – – – – – –

This next set of photos is from Keenan Mahoney, an incoming MIA student.
– – – – – – –
Photos from Paris

La Basilique du Sacre-Cœur:  Photo of the amazing architecture of the basilica taken from around back, where you’ll typically find yourself separated from the rest of the mob of tourists.


Père Lachaise:  Photo of one of the many streets in the very famous cemetery, home to the likes of Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, and the rich and famous of Paris.


Les Jardins du château de Versailles – A quiet spot in the gardens, which is a nice relief from the wall-to-wall people inside the château.

Graduation 2011

I really enjoyed the 2011 edition of the SIPA graduation ceremony.  After being held inside for several years the ceremony this year was held outside.  Everyone was nervous all week because the weather forecast was foreboding, however the rain held off and and no one had to get wet.

Tents were set up so we were not worried too much about the ceremony itself, but the reception area was not entirely covered.  As it turns out, we had nothing to worry about.  When I took this picture I was standing on the steps of . . .

. . . Low Library . . .

. . . which is where the graduates assembled prior to the ceremony.

Kofi Annan addressed the graduates and we are working on getting his speech on line.  When it is ready it will appear on this blog.

SIPA graduates will return to the main quad for the University Commencement on Wednesday.  Congratulations to the class of 2011!

 

Microfinance Working Group 9th Annual Career Conference

By Deepika Sharma and Beatriz Guillen

On April 1st I attended the 9th Annual Career Conference organized by the SIPA Microfinance Working Group. As you might know, microfinance has been in the news a lot recently- for both good and bad reasons. There have been questions raised on the efficacy and sustainability of microfinance especially due to recent events in South Asia. These issues, as well as career opportunities in the field, were discussed in the Microfinance conference, that was held at the Office of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP, a 38th floor with spectacular views of the city.

This year’s Panel was comprised of the following people:

  • Olympia de Castro, IFC Advisory Services – Access To Finance, International FinanceCorporation
  • Erica Dorn, Partnerships and Volunteer Program Manager, ACCION International
  • Molly McGrath, Vice President of Development, Grameen America
  • Shamsudeen Mustafa, Program Director, SeedCo Financial Services and Co-President, Microfinance Club of New York
  • Carolina Murphy, Founder and Managing Partner of MicroEmpowering.org
  • Ben Shell, Senior Associate, New Product Development, Women’s World Banking
  • Adriana Valenzuela, Associate, Capital Markets Group, Grameen Foundation

The 1.5 hour long panel and Q&A session was followed by reception and networking between the audience and the panelists while they enjoyed wine and hors d’oeuvres. Unlike the last few years, the audience this year not only comprised of SIPA students but also students from Columbia College, NYU-Wagner and NYU-Stern as well as alumni and industry professionals. The speakers from the different organizations were extremely helpful and receptive to the students and greatly appreciated the event for facilitating their recruitment processes.

Career Networking is an important part and parcel at SIPA. There are numerous events that facilitate and encourage students to connect with alumni and professionals. In the words of one of the panelists: “staying connected with professionals in the field and building your network is not just important for the next internship or job search but is a lifelong source for advancing your career or just meeting more interesting people”. In fact, the Microfinance Working Group organizes the Annual Spring Career Conference at a prime location downtown because of continued relations Tony Gooch, the Co-founder of the MFWG.

MIA and MPA Concentration Choice

One of the questions that has been popping up in our email in box from MIA and MPA admitted applicants has to do with the choice of concentration at SIPA.  You can think of your concentration as your major field of study.  Many applicants are worried that they must stick with the concentration selected when the admission application was filled out.  This is not the case.  As a reminder, our six concentrations are:

  • Economic and Political Development
  • Energy and the Environment
  • Human Rights
  • International Finance and Economic Policy
  • International Security Policy
  • Urban and Social Policy

We do look for focus in an admission application and the concentration choice often will influence how a file is read.  For example, if someone selects International Finance and Economic Policy on the admission application we do look for evidence of some pretty serious quantitative study and/or work experience due to the fact that this concentration is quantitatively heavy.

However, we also realize that when admitted applicants enroll and speak with faculty, take some classes, interact with second year students, and attend events, one’s career or academic focus might shift and we want to be flexible and allow students to choose the pathway that is best for their professional goals.  Often this insight only comes after actually enrolling and spending time at SIPA.

Thus it is perfectly acceptable to change your concentration when you register for classes in the fall.  There is no formal process, you simply must choose a concentration when you register.  There is also no firm time line to finalize your choice, however the longer you wait, the more precarious completing the requirements becomes.

The counseling students receive will thus encourage you to be firm with your concentration choice sometime during your first year, and the sooner the better so that you may shape your class schedule and internships.  All of our program requirements must be completed in four semesters and deciding early will help alleviate pressure over time by narrowing your class choices.

So there is no need to worry about sticking to the concentration selected on the admission application.  During Orienation in August new students will have the opportunity to hear faculty speak about the different options and the concentration choice will be made when you register.  If you need to change again when you register for the second semester you may, but again the more focused and certain you are, the more you will be able to gain from the program.

"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

Boiler Image