Conor McCormick-Cavanagh | SIPA Class of 2018 | November 1, 2016

SIPA is falling behind its competitors in terms of job placement in Washington DC, according to Class of ’97 alum HK Park. Park spoke exclusively with The Morningside Post to highlight the issue that SIPA lacks a presence in the nation’s capital while schools like Georgetown and GWU easily place their students in fall and spring semester internships at leading organizations and governmental institutions in the city.

Park raised the issue with both the Office of Career Services and the SIPA administration, communicating to them that “students not having access to fall and spring internships prevents them from getting the necessary experience to be fully competitive in job placement in the fields of international and public affairs.”

His communication with the SIPA administration reached high level officials, who listened to his ideas, but told him that implementing a presence in DC did not fall within the current goals of SIPA. Park believes such a response is typical for educational institutions, as they are often reluctant to change. However, Park sees no reason why establishing some form of presence in DC would be outside of SIPA’s mission statement. He believes not doing so would fit in line with the overall trend of SIPA, one that sees it unable to adapt to the changing playing field of international affairs job placement and increasingly relying on its name brand recognition.

The Morningside Post will continue to monitor this story and will communicate to both the administration and the Office of Career Services.