Saiki Ho, Masters in International Finance and Economic Policy
Hi everyone! My name is Saiki. I grew up in Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Welcome to #ISSOstories.
Which Columbia program/department are you in?
I'm a Masters student at SIPA studying International Finance and Economic Policy.
When I first came to Columbia, I took this class called “People's Management and Organization” and I was able to meet this professor and help him out with a few research projects on the side. My role was mainly to help him with literature review, to draft stuff, to do more like the first step. So that was like my first ever exposure to research, and it was at Columbia. So I'm really grateful for that experience.
Also, another project that I'm pretty proud of is I took this class called “Design for Social Innovation.” And I was working with two co-founders of an environmental nonprofit startup, and they were able to take me on for the summer, and now I'm also working with them in the fall as well.
I think one thing that I'm kind of proud of is like the work ethic that I've developed here, because I feel like I really pushed myself. I feel like I figured out everything before I came to Columbia, so I had a goal of like, what I need to do and, like, what my main priorities are.I followed that direction and I was able to, like, take the necessary steps to get to where I needed to be.
I love how diverse New York is, even though I spent eight years living in Hong Kong and I would say Hong Kong is super international too. But I feel like, in New York you can be, like, the craziest version of yourself. You can be whoever you want to be. And that's an environment that I've never seen, like, anywhere else that I've lived in. Another thing that I really like about New York is, like, you can never really get bored in the city.
I wish I knew that I needed to step out of my comfort zone more. So when I first came to New York, I saw all these social media videos of, you know, the New York subway, like I was so scared as an international student, I basically boxed myself off. I would just take my classes and I would go home. Later on, I realized, you know, it's really not that scary. And, like, New York is the vibrant city that it is. You need to put yourself out there and you need to experience different types of activities. All of these jobs and career developments that I was able to get weren't really through, like, my technical skills as much as it was because I knew the right people and I was able to meet them at the right time.
Free time and hobbies, I think. The question is, “Have your hobbies or interests changed over time?” I would say yes. When I first came to New York, I was more introverted than extroverted, so I liked staying at home more. After coming to New York, I feel like I was able to meet a bunch of friends. Some activities that I enjoyed doing are: we would sometimes sign up for dance classes and we would take random dance classes together. And because New York City is so walkable, I developed a hobby of walking every day, just like to go somewhere. And yesterday I actually walked all the way from Columbia back to home, which is Long Island City, and it took me two hours. And my friends were like, are you crazy? And I was like, no, I would actually do it again because I feel like it's fun.So I would say like my hobbies or interests did change after coming to New York City.
Tell us about your research or projects at Columbia.
When I first came to Columbia, I took this class called “People's Management and Organization” where I was able to meet this professor and help him out with a few research projects on the side. My role was mainly to help him with literature review, to draft stuff, and to do all of the first steps. So that was my first ever exposure to research and it was at Columbia. I'm really grateful for that experience!
What is something you are proud of during your time at Columbia?
One thing that I'm proud of is the work ethic I've developed here. I really pushed myself. I feel like I figured out everything before I came to Columbia, so I had a goal of what I need to do and what my main priorities are. I followed that direction and was able to take the necessary steps to get to where I needed to be.
Another project that I'm pretty proud of is I took this class called “Design for Social Innovation” where I was working with two co-founders of an environmental nonprofit startup. They were able to take me on for the summer, and now I'm also working with them in the fall as well.
What is something that I wish I knew before I came here?
I wish I knew that I needed to step out of my comfort zone more. When I first came to New York, I saw all these social media videos of the New York subway and I was just so scared as an international student. I basically boxed myself off. I would just take my classes and I would go home. Later on, I realized that it's really not that scary. New York is a vibrant city. You need to put yourself out there and you need to experience different types of activities. All of the jobs and career developments that I’ve had weren't through my technical skills as much as they were because I met the right people at the right time.
New York is a vibrant city. You need to put yourself out there and you need to experience different types of activities.
What do you enjoy about living in New York?
I love how diverse New York is! Even though I spent eight years living in Hong Kong, and I would say Hong Kong is super international too, I feel like you can be the craziest version of yourself in New York. You can be whoever you want to be. That's an environment that I've never seen anywhere else I've lived. Another thing that I really like about New York is you can never get bored in the city.
Have your hobbies or interests changed over time?
Yes! When I first came to New York, I was more introverted than extroverted. I liked staying at home more. After coming to New York, I was able to meet a bunch of friends. We would sign up for dance and we would take random classes together. And because New York City is so walkable, I developed a hobby of walking every day. Yesterday I actually walked all the way from Columbia to Long Island City. It took me two hours and my friends were like, “Are you crazy?” But I would actually do it again because it's fun! So I would say my hobbies and interests definitely did change after coming to New York City.
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