More incoming student photos today . . .

Stephanie Chang, incoming MIA Student

La Bodeguita Del Medio, Havana, Cuba – A bartender makes our mojitos, Hemmingway’s preferred drink, at this exact bar he famously frequented while living in Cuba, La Bodeguita Del Medio.  A portrait of Hemminway is on the wall behind the bartender.  This picture was taken this past March, when I was on a Spring Break trip to Cancun and we spontaneously decided to take a detour and see what Cuba actually looks like.

Blue Mountains, Sydney, Australia – This is the view from the top of The Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains of Sydney, Australia.  The Three Sisters are a set of three large rock formations.  You can’t see the rocks in this photo, but they are just to the right of me.  The hike trail involves 900 steps, leading to a river at the bottom.  The view is definitely worth the climb!

Santa Monica Pier, California – This is my favorite destination to run to when I jog around my neighborhood.  Santa Monica Pier is usually packed with tourists, but the walk and bike paths are pretty serene in the mornings.  I’ve had the luxury of traveling a lot in the past years, and for my last summer before I move to New York, I’ve tried to spend as much time as I can relishing unique aspects I love about living in Los Angeles.

Once I move to NYC I will most sorely miss the warm ocean breezes and and the ability to run freely outside in sunny weather!

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Holly Sue Hatfield, an incoming MPA-DP student.

Lindon, UT:  I work for the Princess Festival – an event that started as a fundraiser for the charity I work for, but has since become its own private business.  This is a picture from this year’s King’s Daddy-Daughter Grand Ball that we held in Lindon, UT.  The girl up front is a new princess character we created, Princess Mila, and she’s doing a storytelling  for the girls.  Between the two Kings on the stage you’ll see His Excellency Elkanah Odembo, Ambassador of Kenya to the US.  Yes, the Ambassador comes to our princess parties, and yes, we make him sit on the stage.  <grin>  The Princess Festival only has two employees, but has over 350 volunteers that put on the annual event, including a cast of over 60 fairy-tale characters, both classic and new.

Lindon, UT:  I’m the youngest of 8 kids, and I have 44 nieces and nephews; 36 of them are under the age of ten and 38 of the grandkids are girls  (ergo the creation of the Princess Festival).  It’s utter insanity.  When family gets together, though, there’s one thing we can count on – my 63 year-old dad giving his full attention to the kids.  Here he is playing volleyball with a bunch of 5 year-old girls who have no idea what volleyball is or how it is played – so they’re all standing there cluelessly.  But if you look closely, you’ll see the best part of the picture: dad’s casually wearing a headband with cat ears.  Nobody knows why.

Somewhere around Nakuru, Kenya

I’m kind of afraid of birds.  So at this rest-stop park in Kenya, my dad dared me to try and touch one of these crazy big birds.  You can see me in the red dress trying to sneak up on them; I never even get close (ha ha).  I’m sure the Kenyans in the park were as intrigued with the muzungu girl tiptoeing around as I was with the creepy birds.

It is not too late to submit photos if you are an incoming student.  See this post for details.

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Name:  Nicolas Rodriquez

SIPA – MPA 2013

Dancing at Proyecto – This picture was taken at the 2009 Women’s Conference of Proyecto Pastoral, a community-based organization in the Boyle Heights-area of Los Angeles. I have had a change to work with the organization since moving to LA and the Women’s Conference is my favorite event to volunteer at.  Pictured here, La Santa Cecilia, a local band performs during a lunch break for participants.

Looking Towards Skid Row – I took this picture of a few friends as they stood on the roof of a former low-income housing hotel which is located on the edge of the Bank District in Downtown LA, next to Skid Row.   This area, recently gentrified has put a lot of pressure on the homeless Angelenos in the area, who used to rely on the old apartments and hotels of Downtown LA for shelter.

Visiting Family – My dad and I visited a family cemetery in Progreso, TX.  This plot was in my mother’s family dating from the Mid-19th Century and is adjacent to a large sugarcane field.  This area lies on the edge of a new border fence being constructed along the border with Tamaulipas, MX.

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My name is Juan Manuel Rodilla Navarro (SPAIN) and I am an incoming MIA student.

2006 Ecuador. San Antonio del Tio Cajas. Several children attending a workshop for promoting lecture in their tiny village more than 2000m high in the Andes.

2007 Algeria. Sidi el houari, Oran. Participants in a laugh dynamic inside a project of theater teacher´s formation.

2009 India. West Bengal, Kolcata. Proud child showing his self-made latrine, inside of a project of Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS).

Two more incoming students are featured today in our New Student Photo Series.

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My name is Leena Khan.  I am an incoming MPA-DP student and would like to share the following photos.

These photographs were taken in 2008 in the village of Airayan Sadat, which is located in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.  My time in Airayan Sadat gave me some exposure to the types of development challenges faced by rural villages across India and South Asia.  This experience solidified my passion for working on poverty alleviation and other development issues.

The first photograph is of the only primary school in Airayan Sadat.  There was one female teacher for this entire school and the ages of students ranged from approximately five to ten years old.  Classes were overcrowded and basic education supplies noticeably absent.   Nonetheless, the smiles and energy exuding from these children filled me both with hope.

The second photograph is of a female agricultural worker who shows me some carrots pulled fresh out of the ground.  Women play a significant role in India’s agriculture and rural development but have remained largely unaccounted for in measuring economic performance.

The third photograph shows the evening ritual of a local sheep herder leading his flock through the village.

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Serene Ghneim, incoming MPA student.

Monastery – This photo was taken in May; that’s me sitting on the edge of a cliff overlooking St. George’s Monastery in Wadi Qelt (a valley in the Judean desert) in the eastern West Bank. Its origins date back to the fourth century A.D.  Today, it is active and occupied by Greek Orthodox monks.

We Will Return – This photo was just beyond a security checkpoint in the West Bank, on the outskirts of Jericho – a symbol of Palestinian hope that persists even after more than half a century of wars and “peace talks” that have produced nothing.

Lightning – A bunch of my cousins and I set a camera on a tripod and just let this photo happen as we sat on my cousin’s balcony in Nazareth, Israel, and watched the most spectacular lightning storm the region had seen in recent memory.