SUNY Global Engagement Program Fall 2025 Newsletter
The Fall GEP cohort has been underway with their internships and global seminar this season. Our students have had an array of opportunities over the past couple of months including attending the UN General Assembly, conducting research, advocating for worthy causes, and exploring New York City! Through the Global Engagement Seminar, our students come together each week to learn indepth how internationally engaged non-governmental organizations have diverse tactics, organizational structures, and funding mechanisms.
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Internship Site Spotlight
Since 2019, the Global Engagement Program partnered with Human Rights First to offer students a transformational internship experience. For nearly 50 years, Human Rights First has pursued their mission to keep the United States accountable to its citizens and to be a global leader in defending human rights. The non-profit advocates for respect for human rights and the rule of law in the United States and abroad. Its initiatives safeguard refugees escaping persecution, victims of crimes against humanity and other large-scale human rights abuses, individuals facing discrimination, those whose rights are undermined under the guise of national security, and human rights defenders targeted for protecting others. With six past GEP students interning with Human Rights First, and currently having three students interning for the Fall 2025 term, we are exciting to grow our parternship with an organization that is taking the lead on defending human rights and democracy.
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United Nations General Assembly
The GEP is proud to share that four of our current students had the incredible opportunity to participate in the United Nations General Assembly. One of those students, Shekinah Olatunde, a New Paltz Political Science major and International Relations minor, shared her reflections on the experience:
"Through my internship with the United Nations Department of General Assembly and Conference Management I had the opportunity to assist the third committee during the UN High-Level week. In alignment with the third committee's agenda around human rights, I worked the meeting on the 30th anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth. As a young professional, it was reassuring to hear discussions in the room that not only praised success within states but also addressed steps that can be taken to ensure that progress continues." -Shekinah Olatunde
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Fall Applications Open, Apply Today!Fall 2026 applications have offically opened. We offer rolling admissions, and encourage early applications.
Interested in applying for Summer 2026? Interviews are currently underway, and we strongly recommend applying soon.
Interested in applying for Spring 2026? We have a few remaining spots open for students to partipcate in the GEP this upcoming Spring. If you or someone you know may be interested, please contact the GEP right away at gep@newpaltz.edu to begin your application.
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Schedule your GEP Classroom visit today!
Are you a faculty member looking to introduce the SUNY Global Engagement Program to your students? If you would like to have a classroom visit with the Global Engagement Program's Coordinator, Brittany Taylor, she would be happy to schedule one! The visits include a presentation, and can go for around 10 minutes or up to 30 minutes, whichever timeframe works best for your class schedule. The classroom visit can be facilitied in-person or virtually.
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Global Engagement Speaker Series
On November 6th, 2025, the GEP collaborated with the Foreign Policy Association in hosting the annual Speaker Series. This year, we welcomed Amanda Klasing, National Director of Government Relations and Advocacy at Amnesty International USA, who gave the lecture titled Rising to the Moment: Preparing Next-Gen World Affairs Experts During a Period of Human Rights Policy Retrenchment. The event not only educated our GEP students on key human rights issues, but also provided wonderful networking opportunities with professionals across the field of global affairs.
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Thank you to our incredible Alumni!
Thank you to our incredible alumni who provided workshops for our current GEP cohort! Morgan Brown, Mehmet Demir,Tanner Fitzpatrick, Nate Long, Lindsey Mayer, Brianna Suarez, and Ahmad Tipu gave wonderful career insights and professional development for our students exploring fields of related to global affairs.
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New NYC Housing Option: Found Study
For our students’ housing options, we ensure that our recommendations meet high standards of both safety and quality. We are excited to collaborate with Found Study, a new housing provider with multiple locations throughout New York City; including Midtown, Chelsea, the Financial District, Columbia Heights Waterfront, and Brooklyn Heights. These convenient locations complement the wide range of internship placements our students participate in.
Found Study residences offer all the comforts of a college campus, all within one building. Each location is fully furnished and includes on-site laundry facilities, study rooms, utilities, high-speed internet, on-site management, and 24-hour security. With flexible lease terms, our students can avoid the stress of year-long leases or subleasing. To learn about all housing reccomendations, please visit our website.
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Connect with the Global Engagement Program
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