Tag: Alumni

From Nairobi to New York: My Grandparents’ I-House Experience

Written by International House on February 28, 2025. Posted in Alumni News.

Toronto-based writer and freelance journalist Vikram Nijhawan ’24 lived at International House while at Columbia School of Journalism. When he moved into I-House in 2023, Vikram contacted the alumni office for any information about his grandparents, who lived at the House as a young married couple. His grandfather’s original application was found, and he offered to write the following article, during I-House’s centennial year, about his grandparents’ experience. My grandparents arrived at the International House as newly-weds in 1962, from Nairobi, Kenya. My grandfather, Inderjeet...

Alumni Spotlight: Sakura Sweethearts Edition

Written by International House on January 22, 2025. Posted in Alumni News.

Spencer Dreher ‘95 and Marisha Wignaraja ‘97 Spencer Dreher and Marisha Wignaraja’s love story began on the dance floor of Davis Hall at I-House. At the time, Dreher was a PhD student studying organic chemistry at Columbia and Wignaraja was pursuing a master’s in international affairs at SIPA. They met at one of I-House’s many lively gatherings—Wignaraja recalls seeing Dreher dancing without a care in the world. “He just kept dancing,” Wignaraja remembers fondly, “And we’ve been dancing together ever since.” Living at I-House played a pivotal role in their relationship....

Think Bigger: An Evening with Dr. Sheena Iyengar

Written by International House on December 4, 2024. Posted in Events, News.

Where Do Big Ideas Come From? The classic story of the Statue of Liberty focuses on the persistence, passion, teamwork, and technological ingenuity it took to create her. But where did the idea for Lady Liberty come from? In a recent Distinguished Speaker Series talk, Dr. Sheena Iyengar, the S.T. Lee Professor of Business at Columbia Business School and a renowned expert on choice, explored the creative process behind the iconic statue—a symbol that has resonated with her since age three when she arrived from India with her parents. Dr. Iyengar deconstructed Frédéric...

From Night Manager to Distinguished Speaker: Jelani Cobb’s Journey Back to I-House

Written by International House on November 18, 2024. Posted in Events, News.

The rumors are true: on his way to becoming an award-winning writer and producer, Jelani Cobb worked as a night manager at International House. Now Dean of Columbia Journalism School and a longtime writer for The New Yorker, Cobb returned to I-House on November 4, Election Day eve, to deliver a Distinguished Lecture Series talk in Davis Hall, where he discussed the election, political polarization, and the evolving role of journalism in America. But first, some memories. As Cobb was working toward his PhD in History, he staffed the Claremont reception, greeting residents as...

Alumna Spotlight: Zubeida (Parpia) Ahmad ’45, A Champion of Women’s Rights

Written by International House on March 31, 2022. Posted in News Archive.

A chance introduction in 2008 led to a friendship and an unlikely “small world” International House connection with a strong and accomplished woman who became one of the earliest advocates of micro-financing and women’s rights in developing countries in the postwar period. Several years after Marianne Murphy Francke and her husband Nils Francke ’85 moved to Geneva, Switzerland, Marianne started taking French lessons. “One of my classmates was moving back to the US and asked if any of us would like to ‘take over’ her weekly lunches with a very interesting older woman who offered...

Alumni Spotlight: Amos Jones ’03 and the I-House Experience

Written by International House on February 24, 2022. Posted in News Archive.

When Amos N. Jones moved into International House in the fall of 2002, he was not fully prepared for what he was about to experience. Jones, now a Washington, DC-based attorney who practices, lectures and publishes in the areas of civil rights, religious freedom and ethics, chose I-House as his residence while pursuing his Masters in Journalism from Columbia University. This was after the Kentucky-born National Merit Scholar graduated cum laude from Emory University, but prior to studying at Harvard Law and on a Fulbright Scholarship to the University of Melbourne in Australia. “I had not...

Alumni Spotlight: Sidney Nakahodo, Space Entrepreneur

Written by International House on May 11, 2018. Posted in News Archive.

by Angelica Hill (UK), Resident Press Corps “A life-shaping experience,” he said of his time at I-House May 2018–Sidney Nakahodo is an alumnus of International House, born and raised in Brazil, and co-founder and CEO of the New York Space Alliance, a platform that empowers space entrepreneurs through mentorship, advising, investment, and community support. He also spends a lot of his time working with tech start-ups, playing a role as founder and adviser. He is a current lecturer at Columbia University specializing in Political, Social, and Economic Development in Brazil, and...