Admissions Blog

Program Assistant Introduction: Julia Anderson Crane, MIA '23

By Julia Anderson Crane '23
Posted Oct 03 2022

Note from Admissions: We're excited to welcome our new group of program assistants (PAs) working with us here in the SIPA Office of Admissions and Financial Aid. They’ll specifically be helping you through the application and decision process over the next few months through answering your emails, calls, and writing relevant blog posts to help you during this admission process. You can learn more about assistantships and what PAs do here.

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JuliaAndersonCrane

Julia Crane (more commonly known at SIPA as Jules), is a second-year Master of International Affairs (MIA) candidate, concentrating in International Security Policy (ISP) and dual specializing in Russia and the Former Soviet States, and International Conflict Resolution (ICR). A native Vermonter, Jules earned her Bachelor of Science (B.S) in Nutrition and Food Science with a Microbiology Minor from the University of Vermont in 2017. During her senior year of undergraduate education, Jules started coursework for her Master of Public Health (MPH) and ultimately graduated with her MPH in 2018. After obtaining her MPH, Jules worked as an acute-mental health crisis clinician for three years with a non-profit organization based in Burlington, Vermont. In this role, Jules provided in-person mental health assessments for individuals in the community, at the Emergency Department at the University of Vermont Medical Center, and those under court-ordered evaluation, in addition to providing phone support and triage on the crisis line. After graduation in May, Jules hopes to combine the knowledge she has gained through SIPA with her previous education from her B.S and MPH to work in non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs).

What attracted you to SIPA and Columbia University?

I applied to four schools, and after receiving admissions decisions from each school I was left with really strong options. I ultimately decided to attend SIPA for two reasons: location and prestige. Columbia University, no matter where you go in the world, has respected name recognition. Coming from a state that is so small, some people think it’s in Canada (I have actually been asked, “Where in Canada is Vermont?”), I knew that name recognition was important to me. Moreover, the reputation of the International Security Policy Program at SIPA is phenomenal. Additionally, you can’t get much better than New York City! Not only is Columbia’s campus beautiful, but it’s located in one of the most vibrant and culturally diverse places in the world. We are steps away from the United Nations, Wall Street, museums, theatre, and dare I even mention the food…

What’s your internship experience been like?

Like most students at SIPA, I elected to complete my internship requirement in the summer between my first and second year. The internship I completed was a little different in that it was a combined effort from multiple government and non-government agencies. The internship was part of the Department of Energy’s Next Generation Nuclear Safeguards Initiative and was overseen primarily by the Center for Non-Proliferation Studies. My title was a Nuclear Safeguards Intern and I was on-site at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. The first week of my internship was a crash course in International Nuclear Safeguards Policy with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In the subsequent 10 weeks, I self-designed and conducted a research project, attended various lectures at the lab, and participated in the Annual Nuclear Materials Management Conference.  My research project analyzed Russia’s occupation of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, and how, within the legal framework of the IAEA, the agency could complete its legal obligation to safeguard the nuclear material at the occupied plant and provided policy recommendations to address this unprecedented event.

What has been the best part of your SIPA experience?

My fellow peers. The people you meet at SIPA are truly amazing. The International Affairs Building is full of like-minded and equally driven individuals. SIPA has the highest percentage of international students in MPA/MIA programs. People come to SIPA from different nations, cultures, backgrounds, and professional experiences. This makes the classroom conversation dynamic. One of the best pieces of advice that I got from my peer advisors during orientation was to network with each other! Often, people think of networking with professors and alumni, but forget about those who sit right next to them in class. People come to SIPA in various stages of their careers and can be a vital resource when it comes to internship and job hunting. Looking at how great the Class of 2023 is, I can say that I have been sharing a classroom with some people who will be very important in the future.

What has been the most challenging part of your SIPA experience?

Personally, the most challenging part for me has been the amount of reading. I was prepared for the potential challenges of shifting from working full-time to being a full-time student and moving to a new city. However, one thing I was not ready for was the volume of reading. Coming in with a science background, I didn’t have a large reading workload in undergrad or my MPH. Each class at SIPA has about 100-150 pages of reading per week on average. It was not until I was in class that I realized truly how much 100-150 pages of academic reading is! I realized I had to learn how to not only read smartly and quickly, but also how to take concise notes so I wouldn’t forget what I had just read and prevent all the articles from blending together.

Can you comment specifically on some exciting things about your concentration?

The other day, I went to a professor’s office hours to discuss a research paper topic, and during our conversation, I said, “I think in twenty years I am going to look back on my experience at SIPA and say …’ I can’t believe I went to grad school during that time.’” Being an International Security Policy student right now in history is remarkable. Last year, I was in Ukraine: Power, Politics, and Diplomacy, with Valerii Kuchynskyi, (former Ambassador to the US from Ukraine, and six-year Ukraine permanent representative to the United Nations), when Russia invaded Ukraine. This semester, I am taking Contemporary Russian Security Policy with Peter Clement, (former Deputy Assistant Director of CIA for Europe and Eurasia and former CIA Deputy Director for Intelligence for Analytic Programs.) There is so much going on politically, both domestically and internationally, having a chance to be in the middle of it academically is exceptional. The great thing about ISP is that the concentration is not afraid to tackle these challenges head-on. There have been numerous expert panels on Russia’s invasion, the war in Ukraine, Intelligence and its relationship with Donald Trump, among many others. Additionally, ISP, and SIPA as a whole, do a great job of creating interesting and topical course offerings to cover timely subjects.