Newsletter - Spring 2022

Stanford in New York Quarter Highlights

Stanford in New York brings 25 undergraduate students to New York City for a quarter-length, off-campus immersion experience. Students take courses, work in internships, and experience living and learning in New York. Field trips, guest speakers, cultural events, professional development, and community engagement opportunities contribute to student learning, and each quarter focuses on different fields of study and their application in the city.
 

Spring Quarter: The Global City
Our Spring Quarter students represent a diverse range of interests. Below is a partial list of some of our internship partners this quarter. 

• NYC Commission on Human Rights
• New York State Youth Leadership Council
• Fast Company
• Ark Media
• Palio Capital
• Eventique
• Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co.

Classes and Faculty
Take a look at some of our spring classes and faculty bios:

• Just Art: Equity, Immigration and Art in the Global City - Jennifer DeVere Brody (Faculty in Residence)
• Practical Business - Jonathan Bronson & Mohammed Badi
• Safe Cities: A Study of Institutional Responses to Gender Based Violence in the Global City - Chiseche Mibenge
• The UN in Action - Richard Gowan

Student Spotlight

We sat down with Stanford in New York Spring 2022 student, Tanner Christensen, to talk off-campus studying, internships, and living in NYC. Read our Q&A with Tanner below. 
 

Tell us a little about yourself! 
Hello! My name is Tanner Christensen (he/they), and I am a current sophomore at Stanford University. At Stanford, I am majoring in psychology and minoring in Spanish and human rights. Outside of my academics, I am also a member of the Stanford Cheer Team (Go Card!). Additionally, I am heavily involved with the Haas Center for Public Service as I work as a Cardinal Service Peer Advisor, Community Engaged Learning Coordinator, and a Frosh Service Liaison alumnus. Outside of Stanford, I am an Elks Scholar through the Elks National Foundation and have led their Service Incubation Lab, W(elk)ness Club, and participated in their Boston Service Trip. My hobbies include dancing, running, and practicing calligraphy. 

Why did you choose to attend Stanford in New York? 
Stanford in New York, of the innumerable opportunities Stanford offers, has always been a program that I wanted to join after hearing about it my freshman year. When discussing the program with a program alumnus, I could not help but fall in love. Taking my Stanford education into the most diverse, fast-paced, spontaneous city in the world was incredibly enticing. Despite my affinity for the “Big Apple,” I was also impressed by the program’s commitment to living independently (i.e., not living on a dining plan). The program is structured to serve as a test-run for the real world, which is an experience that is undoubtedly unique to the program. Although nerve-racking and intimidating, I wanted to have this incredibly valuable experience to prepare for my life after college. Overall, it is New York City, and I would not want to have my study away be anywhere else.  

Where are you currently interning, what is the role? Who do you report to and what is the work? 
During the Stanford in New York program, I am interning with the New York City Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in the Law Enforcement Bureau (LEB). At CHR, I work under the supervision of agency attorney, Geoffrey Wertime. In the LEB, the commission receives housing and employment discrimination cases that infringe on the rights of New Yorkers. New York City has the most progressive human rights law in the country, which makes the work extremely impactful and meaningful. At the commission, I work on drafting complaints, sitting in on intakes, creating case charts, writing conciliation memos, researching case materials, participating in emotional distress interviews, and more tasks that attorneys need assistance with. Essentially, I am working to help New Yorkers fight for justice and ensure that they are not being discriminated against. The work, although heavy and extensive, feels sincere and something that I can see myself doing after college.  

What has your experience in NYC been like so far? 

My experience in New York City has been unparalleled to any other experience I have yet to have at Stanford; it has been so incredible -- I am unsure how words could express its greatness. Coming from a Utah suburb, I am in awe of New York City’s transit system daily. Knowing that I can get anywhere in the city on the subway is extremely convenient and allows me to explore so much in my time here. In addition, I have been having such an incredible time enjoying the food that is all around me. For lunch, my work is located right next to Chinatown and Little Italy, so I frequently head into these neighborhoods to enjoy the local cuisine. I would highly recommend Manero’s pizza – the best pizza I have ever had! Despite all these amazing experiences, my absolute favorite experience so far has been my trip to Broadway to see Beetlejuice. This was my first time on Broadway and will be an experience I will remember for the rest of my life (in part to my treasured Playbill souvenir).  

What do you hope to do after graduation? 
Ah! The age-old question. After graduation I hope to attend law school to become a public service attorney working to dismantle injustices like the carceral system and homelessness. Perhaps as a hobby or a part-time job, I also want to become a choreographer and/or a cheer coach. Dance and cheer have been such an instrumental part of my life and I do not think I want to let these passions die after college. Additionally, I am hoping to make it back to this magical city and call it my home.  

Faculty Q&A

Jennifer DeVere Brody, Professor of Theater and Performance Studies at Stanford University, joins Stanford in New York as the Spring 2022 Faculty in Residence. Take a look at our Q&A with Professor DeVere Brody. 
 

Why did you choose to teach at Stanford in New York?
I couldn’t wait to sign up to teach in the program my colleague, Prof. Harry Elam, began during my term as Chair of the Department of Theater & Performance Studies since it afforded our students the chance to learn about the arts on the ground. SiNY fulfills the mission to understand the arts as vital to the advancement of knowledge. Although delayed for two years by the pandemic by which we are still affected, I am happy to be here now.

Please describe your class at SiNY. 
The spring term explores “the Global City” for which I designed a new, site-specific, course that interrogates the complex relationships between art and immigration in the city. A through-line for the course connects diaspora, displacement and demographics. As a recent report reveals, “… immigrants have become pivotal to the success of the arts in New York…[which is ]is home to 12 percent of the nation’s immigrant artists, far more than any other U.S. city.” The course responds to such extraordinary movement of peoples that long have shaped the state where more than 4.4 million are immigrants and refugees. By engaging with historical case studies such as the 1922 Cable Act, studying the Statue of Liberty, and guest visits, we learn to think critically about how aesthetics, race and politics work to construct and limit “immigrant’ art. We will use art as research and work with arts institutions such as El Museo del Barrio and The Studio Museum in Harlem.

Is there a particular person or movement that has inspired you in your career?
The interdisciplinary field of African American studies and the on-going extension of civil rights have inspired me. Guest speakers, such as artist Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik (sitabhaumik.com) serves as an inspiration for her dedication to community arts. I worked with her through the People’s Kitchen Collective she began with Joceyln Jackson and Saqib Keval. Together, the have made free meals for hundreds of participants to honor the work begun by the Black Panther’s free breakfast program. http://peopleskitchencollective.com/press. I have been inspired as well by Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, two trans of activists who created LGBTQ organizations in New York and fought for the expansion of civil rights.

Favorite experiences in New York?
Writer Teju Cole calls New York an “open city” –the eponymous title of his novel. Like the protagonist, I value the luxury of walking in New York—past the 28th street flower market, en route to our lively Stanford in New York building offices or, walking the High Line where my partner and I marveled at Simone Leigh’s sculpture, “Brick House”—a treat since Leigh is the first black woman to represent the U.S. at this year’s Venice Biennale.

Looking forward to Autumn: Arts, Architecture, Design, and Urban Studies

Our Autumn quarter runs from September 26 through December 9, and we are actively in the process of finding internship placements for our students. If you know great organizations looking for interns, please connect them to us at stanfordny@stanford.edu. In particular, we have high student demand for urban planning and development organizations, architecture firms, museums, music industry and community based organizations.