Profiles of the Fall 2024 Incoming Class

Undergraduate

Adrienne Carhart 

Hometown: New York City

Prospective Major(s): Economics - Mathematics

I have always dreamed of being a competitive figure skater. As a child, I would practice before and after school, convinced I could pursue both my love for learning and my passion for skating. But as both became more rigorous I realized that I couldn't dedicate myself fully to both at the same time.

At 16 years old, I moved away from home to chase my ice dancing dream and decided to delay my academics. After several years and many skating failures, my partner and I competed at the World Championships in both 2022 and 2023 and were ranked in the top 30 ice dancers in the world. However, as much as I loved devoting myself to my craft, part of me has always missed continuing my education. Now that I have accomplished my goals outside of the classroom, I am excited to start the next chapter of my life.

I am a student that is unafraid to walk the unconventional path and loves challenging myself. This is what drew me to Columbia GS, because it is the only place that provides a rigorous and deeply enriching education while also celebrating the diverse journeys of nontraditional students. I cannot wait to meet my GS peers and hear about their lives before Columbia, learn from their experiences, and continue to grow alongside them. I am incredibly honored and humbled to be a part of such an inspiring community, and I am excited to see where my time at Columbia will lead me to next.

[The best advice I’ve received is] don't be afraid to take a risk and embrace failure. Throughout my skating career I had many moments of self-doubt in the face of failure, and I often wondered if I had made a mistake taking the nontraditional path. However, those failures and disappointments became pivotal moments in my life that shaped me as an athlete and as a person. I have learned to not only accept failing but to welcome these experiences and continue to challenge myself in the process. Don't let fear prevent you from taking a leap!

Ime Ekpo

Hometown: Staten Island, New York

Prospective Major(s): History, African Studies

Born in the Bronx to Nigerian immigrants, I spent my adolescent years on Staten Island. After high school, I pursued computer science at an HBCU, but financial hurdles forced me to join the workforce, where I excelled as a top-performing opener for five years before burning out. My lifelong love for hip-hop and curiosity about its history inspired me to launch my own blog and write for underground publications, eventually landing a coveted byline at The Source Magazine, where I immersed myself in covering classic hip-hop culture for half a decade.

I wanted to become a more ethical and refined journalist, so I resumed my undergraduate studies at BMCC, earning an associate's degree in writing and literature with a journalism concentration while graduating with honors. I was awarded the NBCU Academy Scholarship, and during my last semester, served as president of the Alpha Kappa chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. Participating in the Black Studies Across the Americas program provided an ideal opportunity to apply my strengths in research and long-form writing, further cultivating my aspirations to pursue a career in professional academia.

As a nontraditional student, I have often felt excluded from the conversation. However, I found solace in Columbia GS's focus on serving students like myself.

As a research-oriented institution, the opportunities at Columbia GS align perfectly with my zeal to explore African studies, particularly pre-colonial West Africa. I aim to conduct in-depth studies with access to a high-quality education, while also getting the chance to assist world-class professors in their research through the wealth of undergraduate research opportunities.

I remain actively engaged in my career as a journalist, contributing to Forbes' Hollywood and entertainment coverage and running my own online publication. The flexibility that Columbia GS offers is a perfect fit, allowing me to continue my studies and journalism career while staying based in New York City.

A wise woman once advised me to remain true to my essence. I must refrain from losing sight of my personal values and gleaming goals, and instead, adhere to my authenticity in everything I do at GS. This experience is meant to enhance the best parts of myself.

Michael Bernstein

Hometown: Fremont, California

Prospective Major(s): Economics

My path to GS was challenging and uncertain. I had the unique experience as a child of seeing the spectrum of life, from homeless shelter living and drug-addicted family, to upper middle class wealth…and the psychological damage that can occur to anyone regardless of income level. I also had the unique experience as a young man to serve in the military’s Special Operations where I traveled the world, experienced war, and ultimately hit a rock bottom point of depression, anxiety, and alcoholism…despite having the “coolest” job on the planet. I began exploring alternate and holistic methods of healing traumas, and along the way learned that the path to happiness doesn’t come from anything external at all. I learned to find stillness in my mind and a sense of peace I’d never felt before. 

Almost at the exact time I “woke up” I was accepted into GS. This was no coincidence.I saw GS as an opportunity to leave behind the world of endless wars and being at the mercy of an establishment I no longer believed in. I saw it as a path to bringing value to the world in a way that I was proud of, and being someone who embodies the change I want to see in the world. To me, GS represents an opportunity to help heal some suffering in the world.

I’m just so very grateful to Columbia and GS for offering this program. They’ve truly changed lives and embody the greatest thing the University system offers: giving people of all backgrounds a chance to make a difference.

The best advice I’ve ever received is: The world around you is just a mirror. How you view the world is how you view yourself. If you see mostly negatives in people, it’s likely because you do the same to yourself. Once you learn to truly love yourself, forgive yourself, and have compassion for yourself, you can begin to do the same to the people around you, and the world soon becomes a very beautiful place.

Olivia Doerr

Hometown: Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Prospective Major(s): Political Science

At 16, I was scouted by my first agent and began my modeling career. I quickly fell in love with the energy of the set and the way all the elements of a shoot came together—from the makeup to the lighting, and of course, the photographer. Being in front of the camera so often built up my confidence and desire to eventually step behind it. Albeit, I pursued a very different kind of photography. At 19, two years into my college career, I shocked my family and friends by enlisting in the U.S. Navy Reserves as a Mass Communication Specialist, a job that allowed me to serve as a journalist and photographer for the Navy. Following basic training, I trained for six months at the Defense Information School, learning the intricacies of everything from filming a PSA to how to properly conduct an interview, create graphic designs, and tell powerful stories through photos. I graduated from DINFOS, having been nominated for the Bobby McRill Excellence Award for exemplifying the Navy core values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment, and returned to my unit back home eager to make a difference and continue with the pursuits I had put on pause.

I applied to GS because I wanted to be part of a community that celebrates diversity—not only in race and background, but also in age. It’s a place where people who have taken unique and non-traditional paths are ready to offer fresh perspectives in the classroom, backed by invaluable life experience. I’m excited to be challenged academically and to learn from some of the most incredible and respected professors in the country. The location of the school will also allow me to continue modeling professionally, merging my love of journalism, fostered by the Navy, with my passion for the arts and the job I fell in love with during my teenage years. I’ve always been drawn to the creative environment of New York City, where every corner seems to teem with artists and beauty, and now I can’t wait to be a part of it.

I am involved on the Executive Board of Columbia University MilVets as the Chief Inclusion Officer and Director of New Student Integration. It has been such a blessing to ease into this journey at GS with such an incredible, supportive group of people, and I can’t wait for the upcoming year with them!

[The best advice I’ve received is] always be yourself! I’ve always been considered bubbly and ‘hyper-feminine,’ so when I first joined the military, I was worried I’d feel pressured to conform and act like someone I wasn’t in order to earn and maintain respect. Luckily, my fellow sailors—who became my dearest friends—showed me that wearing a uniform doesn’t mean you can’t let your personality shine through it. My friends and mentors in the Navy have not only supported my military career but also my personal pursuits, including my journey to Miss Massachusetts USA. It’s important to remember that although there may be a way you’re ‘supposed’ to look, dress, or act to conform, constantly putting on a mask is exhausting. Work hard, be good at your job, but stay true to yourself. I’m excited to start my career at GS doing just that.

Bailey Bass

Hometown: Brooklyn, New York

Prospective Major(s): Psychology

I have dreamt of attending Columbia ever since I was in 7th grade. As a New York native, I have always known Columbia is the most prestigious school here. To now be able to attend is a dream.

Before Columbia, there was LaGuardia High School. Along with Columbia University, in 7th grade, I dreamt of attending the famous Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. It is arguably the best arts high school in the world, and as an aspiring actress, I knew that’s where I wanted to be.

Funny enough, I booked a role in James Cameron's Avatar sequels a couple of months after finding out I was accepted into LaGuardia. My educational and career goals came true very quickly. Now, I had to make a choice. Unfortunately, though LaGuardia is a phenomenal school for the arts, they didn’t have an effective program at the time for working kids. So, I made some friends and left after one semester as I continued to film the Avatar sequels.

I later became homeschooled but dropped out because I missed the organic interactions created in a classroom. I received my high school diploma through TASC testing and became DeVry University’s youngest student at 17. Luckily, my drive convinced them to admit me even though I was a year away from my 18th birthday. A year and a half later, I dropped out due to struggling to balance my career and business school.

The next couple of years were pretty cool. I appeared in a Lifetime and BET movie. I also landed a role in the iconic Law and Order: SVU—some say this is a New York actor’s rite of passage. After these smaller roles, I was aching for my next thing, and BAM! I booked the special lead role as Claudia in AMC’s Interview with the Vampire series. I designed a ring for the show that led to the launch of my sustainable jewelry company, BaiBai Jewelry. I also started a career as an activist, working with the UN and empowering others to use their voice and spread kindness. All of this was incredible, but the educational itch never left, and right when I started thinking about going back to school, my friend mentioned GS at Columbia.

I live a very busy life, so the flexibility of the GS program at Columbia was really exciting. The opportunity to attend my dream Ivy League school and choose how many courses I'd like to take at a time was perfect.

[The best advice I’ve received is] never give up. When you give up, that's when you've lost. Though I may cry and get extremely defeated, I can never give up. I've come too far. I want a degree so badly. I want to prove to myself that I can do it. Therefore, I will never give up, and soon a Bachelor's in Psychology will be attached to my name.

Postbac Premed

Lauren A. Knapp

Hometown: All over; I've lived in 12 states now.

I jokingly say I'm a recovering economist and academic. Well, sort of. The reason why I'm here is to eventually become a physician scientist. Prior to this, I worked for the federal government in many agencies in DC after getting my PhD in environmental (applied micro) economics and doing a postdoc. I quit that earlier this year to make this career pivot to medicine, and it was an incredibly tough decision. I love going to all corners of the world to learn new phrases or connect with someone who thinks differently than I do. Cycling, my dogs, or doing things with my hands like a new remodeling project or cooking in the kitchen—and most of all, my incredible fiancé—are what keep me grounded, happy, and smiling.

Some of the best advice I've received is basically how my parents raised me: if there are 99 doors that are locked, find the 100th one and burn it down. There is always a way, so find that way if 'it' matters enough to you. This sense of resilience, if you want to call it that, is one of my superpowers, as well as the ability to be both fierce and soft, depending on what the situation requires. 

Further, it is easy to get caught up in how others see you, or their own projected limitations, especially if you look up to them. Thankfully, I am at a place in life where I unequivocally know what I'm capable of and when to tune out the noise. I think a person needs to know what they want, and why, above all else. That carried me through my PhD, and I know it will help carry me through the MD.

The reason why I want to go into medicine in my 30s is because two people I care about went through kidney cancer and kidney failure, and I ended up significantly caring for one of them for two years. It changes a person when you see someone get a $1,000,000 bill related to their health in the mail. It changes a person when you get a phone call that 'the surgery didn't work, his aorta shredded apart, he died momentarily, and we lost the kidney donor.' That profound sense of helplessness is something I don't wish for anyone. It is however something that I decided to use to fuel my purpose. What they went through, my witnessing and directly experiencing much of it, changed me in profound ways. Being able to put myself in someone's shoes will make me a better doctor, one that is incredibly more compassionate and driven to find a solution, because I get it.

GS has a phenomenal Postbac Premed Program. I wanted to have a leg up when I apply to med school. My mentor also works at Columbia, so I have a closer familiarity with the fantastic work that goes on here in medicine. [In fact] I am a registered kidney donor (and my best friend also went through testing because she was inspired by my story), and the image to the left is a photo of my kidneys the day I was cleared to be a kidney donor, taken at none other than Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Tash Mainsah

Hometown: Westchester, New York

I have known from a young age that I wanted to pursue a career in medicine, though I've also known that I likely wouldn't take the traditional path. I first became passionate about medicine through neuroscience, when my father bought me Michio Kaku's "The Future of the Mind." After spending several summers in Zambia on my grandparents farm and seeing the shortage of medical professionals there, I knew that my purpose would be to provide leading medical support to my communities. 

In university, however, my passions grew in many directions, and I fostered them, minoring in American studies, exploring neuroeconomics, and taking several songwriting classes. I realized that while the "what" was medicine, the "why" was a passion for people, and in order to better understand human behavior, and its wider implications, I wanted to spend some time in the private sector. 

I have spent the last three years consulting at Boston Consulting Group, where I have been able to support global biotech firms, diligence promising healthcare companies, and explore work outside the healthcare field. Consulting has allowed me to develop my people skills working day-to-day with client partners, while also understanding the wider implications and patterns across businesses. I am now at the point where I am ready to focus on medicine, and more certain than ever that this is the right decision for me.

As I was wrapping up my final year at Boston Consulting Group, I began to think about what a path into medicine would look like. I had completed some of my premed requirements during undergrad, and wanted a program that would both reinforce my existing knowledge base and push me academically. Speaking to friends, doctors, and my undergrad college counselors, the Columbia Postbac Premed Program emerged as the best option to set me up for success for this next journey.

[The best advice I’ve received is to] set audacious goals. If a goal doesn't scare you, it likely isn't big enough. When I was making the decision to return to school, many people reminded me of the time commitment and the dedication it would require to achieve my dream. But I plan to remain confident in myself and my abilities to carry me through.

Dual BA Program with Sciences Po

Francesca Gilbard

Prospective Major(s): Political Science

Going from a modest college town that falls asleep at dark to the uninterrupted buzz and abundant choice of New York City is like a polar plunge—but I’m ready to dive headlong. Amidst all the changes, one thing remains certain: although I may have left France, France will never leave me. Its lessons, perspectives, and friendships will accompany me as I welcome the new opportunities—and challenges—that come with hitting the ‘reset’ button halfway through my college career at a completely new institution. As my reverse culture shock softens, I’m left with the satisfaction of knowing that my universe has irreversibly expanded, rendering me smaller, yet wiser.

Selecting the Dual BA as my college choice meant I wouldn’t have to make any compromises. As a hyphenated American and francophone, my decision to move across the Atlantic for college was an intuitive one.

I was three years old when I first began learning French—but there’s a twist: I’m from Texas, and no one in my family speaks French. Understandably, the choice of a French immersion school over a Spanish one was puzzling for many. However, my unconventional, bilingual upbringing is what led me to my first ‘study abroad’ trip to France as a sophomore in high school. I spent a month with a host family in Toulouse, an experience so transformative that I did it again the following year in Lisbon. What began as high school summers abroad eventually evolved into a lease, a +33 phone number, a Société Générale bank account, a Carte Vitale, and, above all, a Sciences Po student ID.

As a Bulgarian American, I knew both sides of my identity could thrive in the Dual BA program—and they did. In Reims, I wasn’t sure if I was a Europeanized American or an Americanized European, but what I do know is that the international student body on campus enabled me to form friendships that reflect just how colorful identity can be.

For a long time, the most common question I received was also the hardest to answer: ‘So, after all this, Europe or the U.S.?’ Initially, I wrestled with the binary nature of the question, feeling pressured to pick between the two. However, a conversation with a foreign service officer at USAID soon made me realize that I don’t have to choose. In fact, embracing only one side would diminish the exact thing that makes me who I am today: my global mindedness. With a passion for thriving anywhere in the world, nurtured by the Dual BA program, I know I could never have just one home. So, my answer to that question? ‘Both—and beyond.’

When I recently discovered a new movie about the life of Veuve Clicquot, I knew I had to do my due diligence as a former resident of Champagne. I’m sure you could imagine my amusement when I noticed that the final scene was filmed in the ancient Jesuit refectory on my Sciences Po campus in Reims. Following this, I’m hoping for a movie about Madame Pommery. It’s the least she deserves after graciously hosting us every year at her Champagne house for the gala to end all galas.

I was honored to be the 2022 laureate of the Henri de Castries Scholarship, a merit award presented annually by the Sciences Po American Foundation to one student in either the Columbia or UC Berkeley Dual BA program with Sciences Po.

As part of Sciences Po’s civic learning program, I served refugee communities in Naples last June. This past summer, I applied my fieldwork and coursework insights at the Center for the Study of Democracy in Sofia, Bulgaria. As part of my internship, I grappled with the challenge of Russian malign influence alongside the American Ambassador to Bulgaria and celebrated NATO’s 75th anniversary with the Bulgarian Minister of Defense. Additionally, I contributed to promoting fundamental rights and expanding media freedom within the EU by developing proposals for the European Commission.

Unified progress begins with empathy. This belief has shaped my transcontinental academic journey, driving me to deepen my understanding of those who don’t share my religion, language, or flag—most recently in Saudi Arabia through the Gateway KSA program, for which I was interviewed by Reuters. Driven by my passion for the intersection between media relations and foreign policy, I aspire to build meaningful coalitions that can foster sustainable and inclusive change in our increasingly globalized world.

This year, you can find me giving campus tours as a new Dual BA student ambassador!