Why did I choose SIPA? -SIPA Admitted Student’s Day

Hi! I’m Kamayah and I am currently a second year student at SIPA. I was also a part of the SIPA Student Government Association, and I currently serve on the Executive board of the SIPA Black Student Union and a Communications Chair for the SIPA First-Generation Student Union. You may be thinking, wow this girl has a lot of school spirit, SIPA must have been her first choice! However, that is not the case; I thought I would be going to school on the West coast in Southern California, or in D.C., or even abroad.

So, why did I choose SIPA and how did I end up here?

Well, I graduated from Spelman College-the #1 HBCU (Historically Black College & Universities), and I knew that after undergrad I wanted to continue on with my education, but in one of the places I’ve always loved: California, D.C., or New York. So I started crafting applications to California schools, Master Programs in the Washington, D.C. area, and considered universities abroad. However, when it came time to apply to schools in New York, I was hesitant about even applying to Columbia because an Ivy league school felt like something out of my league and I was unsure about the culture, and if I could handle the New York way of life. My family encouraged me to just go for it and to not hold myself back, so I applied and waited to hear back. 

I ended up hearing back from the California schools first and got into my two dream schools. I was in the process of accepting my admittance letter to one of the California schools when I got my acceptance letter to SIPA. I didn’t know what to do, but I also felt like I couldn't let this chance to possibly live in New York pass me by. As the deadlines were approaching to accept my offer to SIPA, I was still so unsure about what to do, so I decided that the only way to really decide was to see SIPA in-person for myself. So, I skipped my undergrad economics class and I flew on Spirit Airlines to New York with my mom on a Tuesday to attend the SIPA Admitted Students Day.

SIPA Admitted Student’s Day is when I knew SIPA really was the right choice for me. In this one afternoon full of events, I met some of my lifelong friends, I got to sit and talk one-on-one with the professors of the concentration I was interested in, and I got to see what SIPA really had to offer. We also had a surprise visit from Secretary Hilliary Clinton. Being able to speak with other admitted students showed me just how intellectually diverse and international this cohort was and that really interested me, because I knew that California may not have that level of international connectivity. In my few hours at SIPA for the event, I was able to see the community I would have around me, the support that would be available from the incredible professors that head these degree and concentration programs, the esteemed staff that work within SIPA, and the impact I could have if I were to choose SIPA. 

The Now:

So, here I am now, a second-year student at SIPA about to wrap up my degree, and I think I made the right decision. In my two-year I have been able to serve on Executive Boards of multiple organizations and make a difference, attend lectures from incredibly profound professors and researchers in the field, and re-structure my path & my future career trajectory. While I still plan to live on a beach one day, there is just something about being in the heart of global interconnectedness here in New York that I wouldn’t change a thing about.

For admitted students, please register for Admitted Student Day via your portal!