A View from the Class Jenise Ogle COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog

A View from the Class Jenise Ogle 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 Jenise Ogle MPA 19. Jenise is a first year Master of Public Administration candidate, concentrating in Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy and specializing in Gender and Public Policy. She is also a SIPA Abrams Fellow. What were you doing prior to attending SIPA? I worked for Sanctuary for Families, New York City’s leading service provider for gender-based violence victims. In my role, I assisted domestic violence victims with their legal, educational, and economic needs. I also led the  agency in a legislative advocacy campaign to end child marriage in New York,  successfully changing  the minimum age of marriage from 14 to 17. This experience taught me how public policy can be used to protect human rights, and it inspired me to return to graduate school. Why did you choose SIPA? I chose SIPA because of its Gender and Public Policy Specialization.  My previous professional experience exposed me to how often women and their experiences are disregarded in policies and institutions. When choosing graduate schools, I wanted to join a program that would teach policy-making with a gendered-perspective. SIPA is a leader in offering gender-sensitive programming, the perfect school for my academic and professional interests. What has been your experience at SIPA so far? What distinguishes SIPA is its extraordinary people, and I feel fortunate to be in an environment of thoughtful peers and knowledgeable professors. It is empowering being around likeminded people who are also passionate about promoting positive change in the world. My fellow Seeples have continually inspired me, and I am very happy to be a member of the SIPA community. Is there a particular SIPA experience that stands out? I was selected for SIPA’s 2018 China Delegation. It provided me with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dive deeply into U.S.-China relations. I met with government and business leaders in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. I previously had little exposure to Chinese foreign and economic policy, and I was consistently surprised by the breath of topics discussed during our meetings and our engaging discussions. Additionally, the trip gave me the chance to travel with 20 other Seeples. I valued getting to know them better, and I cherish the great friendships I was able to make. What are your plans after SIPA? I would like to engage in gender-based violence prevention work on a domestic level. I hope I can help develop gender-sensitive public policy that will promote gender equality.