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Aaron Ernst, Second-year International and Media Communications Concentrator
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Aaron is a second-year student pursuing an MIA degree with a concentration in international media and communications (IMC). His coursework includes international security policy, study of the United Nations, writing for international affairs, broadcast journalism, conflict resolution and covering conflict.
He spent part of the summer in Haiti shooting a short video documentary for an international media company about the UN peacekeeping force stationed there. He is currently working as an intern on a two-hour documentary about business and global climate change for PBS’s Frontline.
Prior to SIPA, Aaron owned a Japanese translation company where translated and managed projects for clients in the private and public sectors. He came to SIPA specifically to change careers, and plans to work as a reporter in the area of international affairs upon graduation, reporting for an American audience.
What initially drew you to SIPA?
“I graduated from undergrad with a major in political science and a minor in Japanese. My Japanese skills made it easy to find employment, but after almost a decade as a translator and interpreter, I wanted to do something more meaningful. I was admitted to a number of graduate programs, but SIPA was the only one that had a strong media component. I loved the fact that I could get a comprehensive education in international affairs while also learning the many specific skills required for a career in journalism.”
Has SIPA helped you successfully change careers?
“SIPA provided the perfect environment for me to both figure out the next step I wanted to take in life as well as providing me the skills and opportunity to get there. When I first arrived at Columbia, I was fairly sure that I wanted to study international conflict resolution and eventually head into the diplomatic corps at the State Department or similar government agency. However, I’d always been interested in broadcast media. SIPA allows students to cross-register with any other school on campus, so I took a course at the journalism school to further explore my interest in media. One course and I was hooked. No other school offered me the flexibility to explore that interest. Now not only do I have the skills to shoot stories, edit video and write narration for news pieces, but I also have a broad knowledge of the main theories of international affairs, international economics, international institutions such as the UN as well as US foreign policy. After just two years, I feel perfectly positioned to launch a career in international journalism that I would have been completely unable to do without a degree from SIPA and the related experience.”
What do you most like about SIPA?
“The diversity of classes is excellent, and most of my professors have been extremely dedicated, experts in their field, very approachable, and always willing to help a student out with either academic or career-related questions. But in addition to the professors and the parade of international experts who are constantly speaking at SIPA, I’d have to say that my peers are one of the most enjoyable aspects of my time here.
Even though there are many different concentrations, SIPA students share many of the same tastes, political ideas and international experiences. As a result, I’ve grown closer to friends here than I’d ever done in undergraduate or career environments. Not only does this make for an incredibly fun two years, but since many SIPA students will return to their home countries after graduation, we will all have an instant global network of friends spread throughout the highest ranks of institutions relating to international affairs.”
What is the most challenging part about your SIPA experience?
“SIPA is definitely not like undergrad, and the Columbia administration will not coddle you. You need to know going in what you want coming out in order to take advantage of your two years at SIPA. It took me awhile to learn how to navigate registration to ensure that I was able to take the classes that I wanted, particularly ones at other schools.
Columbia is a large University and if you don’t advocate for yourself it can be easy to get lost in the shuffle. My quantitative skills were also rusty, so econ and stats took some getting used to. And while the course load is doable, proper time management becomes key to staying sane during finals. Overall, I’d say the most challenging aspect of SIPA is maintaining a balance between my social life, academic life, and the time required to make contacts and follow up on future career leads.”