The Low Down

     Minah Kim '17SEAS                        Erin Vaughn '19CC                    Rebecca Murray '18SEAS                 Colette McCullagh '17SEAS

In this episode of The Future Is..., we hear from some young Columbians—a group of students (and some now young alumni) who together lead the Columbia chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).

Minah Kim '17SEAS, Colette McCullagh '17SEAS, Rebecca Murray '18SEAS, and Erin Vaughn '18CC talk about their work on campus, what engineers watch on Netflix, and the head start they have on mentorship.

The secret to their success? Even their free time is useful: these girls' idea of a fun time is taking free classes on iTunes U!

SWE is an international organization with professional and collegiate chapters around the world. The student chapter at Columbia provides professional development opportunities, serves as a support group for women engineers on campus, and conducts community outreach to introduce local high school and middle students to engineering. Learn more about SWE on their website and Facebook page.

Here's what's new in your alumni community.

Of the 24 inspiring individuals who were named this year's MacArthur "Genius" Grant Fellows, four are Columbians—including three alumni! Learn a bit more about them below.
 

Check out the latest from your Columbia alumni community.

For Rita Pietropinto-Kitt, the decision to become an alumni leader was an obvious one.

"The Future Is..." is a mini-series all about Columbia alumnae who are the leaders of today and creators of tomorrow. This podcast is produced by Shanna Crumley '18SIPA and the Columbia Alumni Association. 

When seventeen-year-old Julia Bacha '03GS arrived at Columbia, she had no idea that she would become a filmmaker, much less one far away in the Middle East. Yet that's how Bacha works best: by following her instincts. That journalistic instinct is what led her on a journey from studying Middle Eastern history at Columbia to advocating for justice as an award-winning documentary filmmaker.

Bacha has served 12 years as the creative director at Just Vision, a nonprofit that documents the work of Israelis and Palestinians using nonviolent resistance to the occupation to bring freedom, dignity, and equality to both societies. As part of her advocacy, she has also given two TED talks about women and nonviolence in conflict and shown her work at the Sundance, Berlin, and Tribeca film festivals.

Bacha's work has been profiled by BBC, HBO, Al Jazeera, The Washington Post, and The Economist, and screened at widely diverse settings, from Palestinian refugee camps and villages to the halls of the American Congress and European Parliament. Her TED talk, "Pay Attention to Nonviolence," was selected as one of the best talks of 2011 by TED curators and has been viewed by over half a million people.

A new Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) initiative aims to bring alumni together around one shared passion: wine.

By Judy Liu '96BC, '98PH of the Columbia Career Coaches Network
This article originally appeared on Strenua.

The most basic relationship is a transactional relationship. A transactional relationship involves barter or trade. It is often limited in scope and does not create any long-term benefits. When pursuing a successful career in an ever-challenging world, we need to remind ourselves that our success depends on transformative relationships.

Here's what you need to know from the Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) this week.

Here's the latest from your Columbia alumni community.