A View from the Class Matthew Hinson COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog

A View from the Class Matthew Hinson COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog The SIPA Office of Alumni and Development is pleased to share another installment of A View from the Class, a SIPA stories series featuring current SIPA students, recently graduated alumni, and SIPA faculty. In this issue, we feature current SIPA student Matthew Hinson MPA 19. A first year Master of Public Administration candidate, Matthew is concentrating in International Security Policy (ISP) and specializing in European Studies. He is also SIPA’s John N. Hazard Fellow. What were you doing prior to attending SIPA? I attended the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in international history and a minor in philosophy. My studies focused on the role of religion and related violence in the modern Middle East. I also interned at the Library of Congress, in the nonprofit sector, and on Capitol Hill. Why did you decide to study at SIPA? As a 2017 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellow with the U.S. Department of State, I wanted to continue my studies in international security, particularly with regard to terrorism, emerging technologies, and nonproliferation. SIPA’s ISP faculty is outstanding, and I thought it would be exciting to live in New York. What has been your experience at SIPA so far? It has been great getting to know the other ISP concentration students and working as a Research Assistant for the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute for War and Peace Studies. I also had the great experience of traveling over spring break to Thailand through the SIPA Southeast Asian Student Initiative (SEASI), a student-run organization that serves as a forum for students who share an interest in the Southeast Asian region. Please tell us about a class that you have enjoyed taking at SIPA. I very much enjoyed Professor Valerii Kuchynskyi’s Ukrainian Foreign Policy seminar. At the end of the semester, the other students and I had a chance to visit Ukraine’s Mission to the United Nations and have a fruitful discussion with the ambassador about issues such as Russian-Ukrainian relations and Ukraine’s membership on the Security Council. What are your plans after SIPA? I plan on entering the U.S. Foreign Service as a Political Officer and working as a diplomat around the world.