Edna Simbi, a Kenyan refugee and mother of two who escaped to the US in 2010, will graduate cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the Columbia University School of General Studies on Monday, May 16.
Luca Springer ’16, a student in the Dual BA Program Between Columbia University and Sciences Po, has been selected as a 2016 Rhodes Scholar. He is one of only 89 recipients of this prestigious award worldwide, and will pursue a Master of Public Policy degree at Oxford University this fall.
On Dec. 8, 1979, Lizzie Valverde was born in Tampa, Florida. One year later her sister Katy Olson was born; both adopted at birth. Thirty-three years later, and thousands of miles from where they began, Valverde met her long-lost sister, Olson, after sharing her adoption story on the first day of a Columbia University writing course.
For the first time since 1970 and since the return of NROTC to campus in 2012, a U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt., Patrick Poorbaugh, will be commissioned as a Marine Corps officer May 21 at 4:30 p.m. in Low Memorial Library Rotunda at Columbia University in the City of New York.
After becoming a pro-surfer out of high school, Will Tant has spent most of his life hitting the waves. In 2011, he decided it was time to focus on his academic pursuits. Three years later, the 37-year-old surfer, model, philanthropist, and survivor will graduate Phi Beta Kappa from the Columbia University School of General Studies
On Oct. 2, 1992, with his brother on his shoulder and mother and sister close behind, Umaru Jalloh ran for his life as grenades exploded and bullets screeched by his head. Twenty-two years later, Jalloh, a 42-year-old Sierra Leonean refugee who has endured personal tragedies such as homelessness and triumphs as a dean’s list student, will graduate from the Columbia University School of General Studies on May 19.
27th Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will address the Class of 2014 at the Columbia University School of General Studies graduation May 19 at 9 a.m. in New York City. Brewer, who graduated from Columbia GS in 1997, has served New Yorkers since the Lindsay administration.
At 21, Nur Arafeh is on the path to becoming a future world leader. Born in Manchester, England, and raised in East Jerusalem, Arafeh speaks Arabic, French, and English, has been educated in three countries, and is on her way to becoming an expert in Middle Eastern economics.
Military veteran, rock guitarist and monk, Jason Everman raises the bar for the modern Renaissance man. In 1987, Everman—a commercial fisherman off the coast of Alaska—quit his job and moved to Seattle where he became the second guitarist touring worldwide and recording with Nirvana to promote their “Bleach” album and a bassist with Soundgarden on their “Louder than Love” tour.
In 1992, Gac Filipaj, 52, left his parents and siblings behind and escaped from war-torn Yugoslavia to come to the United States. He arrived knowing no English and with virtually no support system. Twenty years later, Filipaj, a Columbia University custodian, will graduate from Columbia University School of General Studies with a B.A. in classics with department honors on May 13 at 9 a.m. in New York City.
Dean of the Columbia University School of General Studies (GS) Peter J. Awn announced that U.S. Army General George W. Casey, Jr. will be an honorary guest at Class Day on Sunday, May 13. Casey will be present to celebrate the 41 U.S. military veterans graduating from GS this year—the largest number of undergraduate veterans to graduate from Columbia University since the period following World War II.
Beginning this fall, students interested in a rigorous, international college experience will have an opportunity to study in both France and the United States while earning two bachelor’s degrees through the new Dual BA Program between the French university Sciences Po and Columbia University.