November 2017

Alum Ryan (Blanco) Dzakovic (’15, Cultural Studies) is headed to Washington, D.C. for a year-long fellowship with the U.S. Department of State’s Veterans Innovation Partnership (VIP) Fellowship Program.  VIP Fellowships support veterans’ transition to diplomacy and development careers by providing opportunities to serve within U.S. foreign affairs agencies.  “Having the background in graduate studies prepared me for an opportunity at a caliber I thought I would never achieve,” Dzakovic said.  Read Ryan’s story.

Nikki Neuen (’04, American Studies) is Associate Director for Gender Diversity Education and Support Services, where she focuses on infrastructure management, communications, grant writing, and everything else.  “Our staff is so small, that we all help with everything – conferences, marketing, volunteer management, fundraising – you name it,” Nikki explains. Gender Diversity increases the awareness and understanding of gender diversity in children, adolescents, and adults by providing family support groups, education and training to professionals serving trans youth, and through their annual international conference, Gender Odyssey. 

Law, Economics & Public Policy (LEPP) student Avi Socha is currently finishing up an exciting internship with the U.S. Department of State in Rome. The State Department, which accepts less than 10% of applicants nationwide, granted him Secret Security Clearance and a posting at the American Citizen Services Unit at the Rome embassy, working alongside the U.S. Consul General. As a LEPP student ...

The NWSA held its annual conference in Baltimore, Maryland this year. The conference’s theme was “Forty Years After Combahee: Feminist Scholars and Activists Engage the Movement for Black Lives” and was an inspiring weekend full of panels, round-table discussions, plenaries, meetings, receptions, networking, and socializing. Seven GWSS faculty presented and co-presented papers. GWSS faculty coordinator Julie Shayne organized a panel called ...

IAS Faculty member Alka Kurian led a discussion of Jhumpa Lahiri's The Interpreter of Maladies for Columbia Library-hosted Arts Gumbo Book Chats in partnership with SEEDArts this fall. The discussion book featured South Asian/Indian immigrant’s experiences.