SIPA: School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University

Daisy Chu
BA/MIA – Barnard College

Daisy majored in Mathematics and Economics at Barnard College.  She interned at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, DC during the summer where she worked with the Capital Markets team within the Division of Research and Statistics.  She decided to pursue a SIPA degree because she believes it will help her realize her career goal to research the implementation of monetary policy.   “I hope to start my career at the NY Fed or the Board of Governors in DC in June, 2012.  After that, I would like to get my PhD in Economics or an M.A. in either Statistics, Computer Science or Applied Math.”

Sharone Golan Tobias
BA/MIA – Barnard College

Sharone majored in East Asian Studies with a focus on China and in Political Science.  She grew up partly in Israel, studied for a year in Taiwan as a high school exchange student and studied Arabic in Morocco the summer before college. While at Barnard she spent a summer studying in China on the Critical Language Scholarship, and at Peking University during her junior year abroad.  “I wanted to pursue a SIPA degree because I've always been interested in international affairs, and I want to pursue a career in foreign policy, either working for a think tank, an NGO or for government.  Further, I knew that I wanted to go to a professional school rather than pursue an academic career.”

Anna Garofano Nogueras
BA/MIA – Barnard College

Anna is from Barcelona and majored in Economics at Barnard. She came to Columbia after attending the United World Colleges, a small group of international schools with a clear international focus.  She spent a year at the London School of Economics and then decided to pursue a SIPA degree. She has worked for a European MP, for the Secretariat of International Relations of the largest Catalan political party and did a summer fellowship at the Monterey Institute of International Studies on Global Trade and Development. “I wanted to further my knowledge in international affairs, and gain a more practical educational experience before seeking a job in Europe. I am interested in working for the EU, or another international organization.”

Nadia Sariahmed
BA/MIA – Columbia College

Nadia, an Algerian-American, majored in Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies (MESAAS). Her academic interests lie in studying postcolonial North Africa. During a semester abroad in Paris, she wrote a thesis on the city of Algiers post-independence. She has worked as a volunteer and intern at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, and is deeply committed to children’s rights advocacy. 

She applied to the Five-Year program because SIPA offers an opportunity to work with students from all around the world while learning the principles and techniques necessary to become an effective advocate for children. At SIPA she is concentrating in Economic and Political Development, seeking to combine the skills she acquires at SIPA with her MESAAS background in order to challenge conventional ideas about development. “I hope to work on improving child and adolescent education in North Africa.  I am dedicated to the global effort to ensure that every child’s right to a quality education is respected, and I would like to focus my efforts in a region that holds great personal importance to me.”

JC Barcelon
BA/MPA – Columbia College

JC grew up in Manila, Philippines and majored in History at Columbia College, with a concentration in French and Francophone Studies. “I applied to the 5 year program for two principal reasons: first, it has always been my dream to study international affairs, economic development and non-profit management. Growing up in the Philippines gave me a passion to reduce poverty and improve public health and I worked for several summers in NGOs at home. These experiences showed me that I would need practical training, management skills and economics to be a truly effective development practitioner.  Second, I knew I would one day pursue a master’s degree and this program provided a conveniently accelerated track to achieve that goal.”

JC would like to join the project management division of an international organization such as the UNDP and work on projects in the field, particularly those focused on corporate social responsibility. He eventually sees himself moving into development consulting, focusing on emerging market economies and new business.