SIPA STORIES: A common culture and a family: Q&A with LASA President Diego Castrillón

By Ed Bonahue (MPA ’23)

The Morningside Post sat down with Diego Castrillón (MPA ’23), 2022 President of the Latin American Student Association (LASA) at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To contact Diego, email dmc2252@columbia.edu.

Could you tell me about yourself and what you were doing before coming to SIPA?

Right before SIPA, I was working in research and behavior. It was more of a temporary thing while I was in the application process and figuring out the next thing to do. Before that, I worked a lot on financial inclusion and international development in DC.

What prompted you to apply to graduate school? Why did you choose to apply to SIPA?

When I was working in this international development organization, I was like, "okay, there are a lot of things that I would like to do, and with the knowledge and experience that I have, this is the highest I can get." Right? So, I was looking for a challenge — somewhere that I would be able to develop more soft and hard skills.

And then, I wanted to dig into energy and environment because that's something that I'm really passionate about, which I'm able to do here today and want to do later. I didn't have a lot of experience in those things in order to be where I wanted to be. And then I said, "okay, let's just find a new opportunity where I can use my skills and also learn about new things." Then I heard SIPA was a great school for my interests. 

Since arriving at SIPA, you've become the president of LASA. Could you introduce the organization?

LASA is a student organization that has been around for many years. I think that the message that every president wants to introduce to people that don't know about LASA is that the organization is a place for students to come together around political, social, and different development issues that occur in Latin America and how those things impact the world. 

For me, LASA is this organization where we are interested in Latin American matters — but you don't need to be from Latin America to be interested in Latin America — as long as you care, you should reach out!

What role do you see LASA playing in the student body that is distinct from other student organizations?

I think that, as a Latin American and from what we've discussed as a team, what we want to do with LASA is to bring awareness to the similarities and differences between countries and regions. You can talk to all the Latinos that you want about their country, and you'll find that all of their experiences are different, but there are also similarities. And it's really important to have those similarities because there is a pattern, something in common, there is a culture, and there is a family. But also, there are some differences that are really interesting to see.

What I believe is essential is to show the world what Latin America is in economic, social, and cultural terms, and share those stories with our peers. I feel like in a policy school you need to have those perspectives from people that are born there or worked there, but also that want to work there in the future. If people are looking for X, Y, or Z experience or want to know more about Latin America, I think LASA is here to be a messenger and connect them with that kind of stuff.

What drew you to LASA as an organization when you first arrived on campus?

I think that as part of choosing my desired place to study — when I was looking at different universities — I knew I wanted to continue working for Latin America as much as I could. And having been a part of different Latin American initiatives in previous jobs and experiences, I felt I needed to continue that kind of work to bring awareness to the region and to make people realize why Latin America is special in very particular ways, while celebrating those differences between regions and so on. 

So then I found LASA, and I knew: I need to be involved here. I was in touch with some people from the previous board and, through those interactions, realized it would be a really great organization to be a part of. I knew I wanted it to be one of my key SIPA experiences before I graduate. 

What goals do you and your members have for this year?

I think I have to mention that the parties will still be happening. But we also want to bring more events related to development topics from different parts of the Latin American world. I also think that we are going to have a lot of interesting speakers and host networking events for everyone.

Something that we really appreciated from the previous board was the "coffee chat" events for people to speak in Spanish or Portuguese. If you're interested in learning about Latin America, you may also be interested in learning a little bit of the language, and it's a really cool way to meet people. 

I would say lastly that we want to reach out to more organizations at SIPA because from my perspective and from the perspective of the board, there are a lot of intersections. Right? You can talk about the environment, you can talk about energy, you can talk about gender, and so on, and there are so many different intersections at SIPA. 

I think now that we are back in person and can do more events and can get together with these different organizations, we can build a network of people that are interested in Latin America — via social media, events, coffee chats, with not only the people that are here, but also for the people that were here before us. To build connections with alumni.

Are there any issues that you think are particularly important for SIPA students and LASA to keep in mind this semester?

That's something that we always discuss as a team. Ideas come from everyone. But if I could mention some examples — for instance, this year there are two important elections in Latin America, in Colombia and Brazil. I think those two are good examples of this left and right political battle that's taking place in Latin America. Right? So it's also good to understand how policies work in Latin America. 

And, something else that's really important to talk about, is the school reopenings. I'll tell you that, in Peru, classes were closed for more than a year and I think in some places they are still closed. It makes you think about the barriers these kids are facing.

I think an issue that's really controversial is the energy and climate injustice that happens between the developed and the developing world. I mean, there's a lot that we should be talking about right now.

Could you talk about the social role that LASA plays at SIPA? For example, the LASA party from last semester.

I would say it's one of the things that represent LASA. I think we all like a good party, but I also like to think of it as a place where we can all connect. During the SIPA experience, everybody has their own circles and goes out to their different places in New York. And then we have this unique space where we can all connect with our peers and have a good time and, of course, listen to some good reggaeton music, I believe. I mean, I was really excited when I first arrived to SIPA, and I heard there would be LASA parties and that I'd learn more about LASA. So, I think that's also the message that we want to give to people. That we're here to teach about Latin America, but also we're funny people, we like to connect with people and make them feel at home. And we like to interact with our community. That's something you'll see at each LASA party and I think that makes everyone happy. As a board, we're happy to continue doing that.  

Could you speak about your SIPA experience so far? Has anything been particularly challenging? Have there been any highlights?

I'm still trying to figure it out like we all are. It's our second semester, and we're still figuring out how graduate school works. But at the same time, I only have two more semesters! So it's an ongoing process. But I think what I've learned is that we shouldn't be that strict with ourselves. We have to study, and the studying is essential, but there are a bunch of opportunities that SIPA and New York provide, and it doesn't make sense to me not to take advantage of that. 

I think one of the challenges with grad school is finding the work and life balance, and it's through trial and error that we find it. In the end, I think it's a matter of remembering that people here care about your effort. It's not like undergrad where you felt like you had to die to get a great GPA. I think we're all in a good place, and we need to take advantage of that. Take advantage of getting to know your professors, your peers, alumni, and so on. We've got to use this small timeframe that we have and it's going to go so fast. 

I think it's important to have balance in what you're doing and to focus on specific objectives. I think getting things piece by piece is easier. If you try to do everything at once, for me, it doesn't work that way. 

As we transition to a new dean, do you have any ideas for changes to be made at SIPA?

I'd like to see more access to job opportunities. There is a gap between other schools and us. I feel like we all feel that way. Also, the requirements you have to meet to be aware of what's going on. 

This is also true for academic courses. For example, a friend told me that there was this climate expert in the business school teaching this semester, and we didn't have any idea that he was doing this course. We found out last week and asked, "why can't we be more aware of what's going on?" We are a policy school; we all know that. But that doesn't mean we only want to know about policy. I think the world is so dynamic right now and there are different people that want to have different skill sets. If you can get skills in different places, why not be aware that they exist?

I'd appreciate more connections and more opportunities across schools. We are going to work with people from different backgrounds. We have really diverse backgrounds at SIPA from all over the world, different careers, and it's always good to be able to hear about those things. But if we can get perspectives from the law school or the business school, for instance, why not have those opportunities? I feel like Columbia needs to do more about that. If you want your leaders to be prepared for everything, I think it's a good way to start.

Do you think LASA can have a hand in building some of those connections?

Yeah, I think so. I totally agree with that. That's part of what we want to do in reaching out to more organizations. There are a lot of people that work on similar ideas, and when you can find those intersections and align them, why not just do it. 

If you were speaking to a new student coming to SIPA, what would you want them to know about LASA?

I think LASA is an organization that wants to look out for a better Latin America, for the Latin American community, across the world.

I'd like to say that every one that is interested in Latin America, feel free to reach out to me! Fortunately, I have the chance to work with such capable, great, and bold people. I had chances to interact with them last semester, and it feels like we've known each other for a lifetime when it's only been a couple of weeks. Feel free to reach out to everybody. We'll be in constant communication.

Is there any other message you'd like to share?

I'd like to thank everybody that's interested in these matters and this region and thank the board. We are going to do great things, and I couldn't do it without them.