SIPASA COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog

SIPASA COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog Anesa Diaz-Uda, a second-year MPA student contributed the following post. _____________________ The SIPA education extends beyond the classroom, and students can find a plethora of student groups and extracurricular activities to meet their many interests and passions.   The student group charged with overseeing these forums and events is the SIPA Student Association (SIPASA). “SIPASA represents the diverse interests of students on a school-wide basis. It serves as a liaison between the student body and administration and enhances the quality of life of the SIPA student body through the promotion of social activities which occur during orientation and throughout the year. Moreover, SIPASA supports student initiatives sponsored by other groups at SIPA, promotes community outreach, and represents the student body in regard to curriculum issues through the Committee on Instruction, semi-annual town meetings, and semi-annual open forums.” Some of the work the Board is most proud of accomplishing this year is: improvements at Alice’s Café on the 6th floor of IAB â€" namely a greater variety of food with more vegetarian options; a very efficient and transparent budget process for student groups; the removal of computers from the 6th floor lounge to create more social space for students; and the adoption of the new email addresses for all students (ie. jdoe2010@sipa.columbia.edu). My SIPA experience has been thoroughly enriched by my involvement in SIPASA.   This past year I was the MPA Internal Affairs Chair, and in this role I acted as basically the manager of SIPASA.   I won’t lie, it was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of fun.   My tasks were as diverse as: meeting with various deans regarding student life; coordinating locker sales for students; assisting in the planning of orientation; helping throw parties for the student body; and most recently running elections for the incoming board.