Kristin “Kricky” Szczepaniec graduated from CIPA in 2013 with a concentration in Social Policy. While at CIPA, she wrote a blog about her experiences on campus. Kricky is currently the Director of National Alliances for Teach For America.
What are your long-term career goals? How did CIPA help prepare you for these?
After being in the classroom for a few years, I saw that there were elements of our education system that, while not intentionally malevolent or disenfranchising, nonetheless had huge negative implications for many of our schools and our students. I was ultimately looking for a way to learn more about the higher-level systems, politics, and policies
What would you tell a prospective student who asked you to list the top three reasons that CIPA was a good fit for you?
a. Flexibility. I know my interests are very eclectic and my background/experiences are extremely varied. As I already had a B.A. in Economics, and an M.A. in Elementary Education, I wanted to be able to find my niche of classes that would allow me to learn specific skills in the areas that were of interest to me.
b. Proximity/Location. It sounds rather silly, in retrospect, to say that one of the main reasons I chose CIPA was its location in Upstate New York, but that doesn’t make it any less true. My family is from this region and while the winters may seem a bit cold for some, it is always a place that feels like home.
c. Opportunity. After working in ‘the real world’ for a few years, it was a bit challenging to come back to school. I appreciated (and still appreciate) the many partnerships that CIPA has with businesses, nonprofits, etc. in Ithaca and abroad that allow students to engage in hands-on projects and consultancies. These types of experiences eased my transition back to school as I was still engaging in and grappling with real-world issues where the work that I was doing was truly impacting the lives of others.
Are there any particular “stand out” experiences at CIPA that made a lasting impact on you?
I have been lucky in the sense that many, if not most, of my classes at CIPA mattered in this way. Of course there are classes where the purpose is to learn technical skills (STATA, GIS, etc.) but the majority of my classes have incorporated a hands-on element with an opportunity to work “in the real world.” For many agencies and organizations, there just aren’t enough hours in a day. I had the wonderful opportunity to get back into the school system working for the Ithaca City School District, assessing their wants and needs, surveying literature by analyzing small and large district professional development policies, and developing frameworks to guide meetings to be used in going forward with their initiatives (including the development of an Instructional Coaching Program, which would be a project for CIPA’s Domestic Capstone class).
Capstone, one of the classes required for our graduation from CIPA (one option out of 3—the others being the completion of a thesis or a professional report) offered another opportunity to help an organization try to fill one of their needs. The particular need I sought to help address was assessing and making recommendations for the parking situation in Ithaca’s Collegetown area. What started as a project charged by the Ithaca Planning Department soon became a multi-level evaluation that had some major implications for several other stakeholders, including the Cornell Transportation Department and potentially TCAT (the bus service provider in the area). The Cornell Chronicle ran a story about our Capstone class’s work and some of the challenges we faced throughout the project.
My final project for the Public Administration course was a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of an organization. After speaking with some individuals in the non-profit that we were focusing on, they expressed interest in using our findings to help grow their organization. The analysis paper that our team developed, thus was passed to several committees within the organization and considerations were made based on our findings.
Finally, the Dispute Resolution practicum class that I took required us to attend mediation and arbitration hearings to get a better understanding of the process and various techniques. I was able to sit in on school district hearings, which was an interesting and informative experience.
How would you describe the sense of community you find at CIPA? How did that figure into your experience of the last 2 years? How do you see it figuring into your future experiences?
CIPA students come from all over the world and all over the country. We have varied experiences in many different fields. Unlike many other programs that bring together people with similar backgrounds, I think much of what makes CIPA great is the coming together and bridging of these unique individuals around learning how to improve the world in which we live.
Is there anything else about the CIPA program, about the opportunities here, or about your particular experience that you would like to share with prospective students?
There are plenty of things to do in Ithaca both on and off campus (a few examples that come to mind are tutoring, hiking, apple/pumpkin picking, volunteering, local festivals, etc). I know it is easy to avoid the many hills and winters for which Ithaca is notorious, but part of what made my overall experience so great were the things I was able to do outside of the classroom.