Tag: Spotlight

Resident Spotlight: Aurora Martinez

Written by International House on October 9, 2025. Posted in Resident News.

Aurora Martinez left Nicaragua at age 16 in pursuit of a better education. As the eldest daughter and the first in her family to study abroad, she was accepted to United World College–USA (UWC-USA) in Montezuma, New Mexico. There, she spent two years at a boarding school for international students earning an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. From there, Martinez received the Davis UWC Scholarship to attend the University of Florida. As a Davis Scholar, she joined Semester at Sea, a program where students live and study aboard a ship while traveling the world...

Alumni Spotlight: Summer Scott Huyette ’73

Written by International House on October 8, 2025. Posted in Alumni News.

When Summer Scott Huyette ’73 arrived at I-House in the early 1970s from El Paso, Texas, she was pursuing her PhD in political science at Columbia, specializing in Soviet studies. She quickly discovered that I-House would be more than just a place to live. It would become her community. Looking back, Summer treasures the camaraderie and cultural exchange that shaped her I-House years. “My real social life was at I-House,” she recalls. “It was the perfect place for me to be.” She befriended residents from Russia, Egypt, and beyond during the height of the Cold War, and those encounters...

Resident Spotlight: Runting Luo

Written by International House on May 14, 2025. Posted in Resident News.

When Runting Luo first discovered I-House, she knew immediately that it was more than just student housing—it was the vibrant, global community she had been searching for. A graduate student at NYU studying Management and Analytics, Luo’s journey has taken her across continents. Originally from China, she studied in Japan for her undergraduate degree before arriving in New York to begin a new chapter of learning and cultural exchange. Luo credits her multicultural upbringing and early exposure to different languages for sparking her interest in international...

Alumni Spotlight: Cyrus Mehta ‘90

Written by International House on May 12, 2025. Posted in Alumni News.

Today, Cyrus Mehta ’90 is a prominent attorney for immigrant rights and constitutional protections, handling high-profile cases and shaping policy conversations across the country through his blog and other platforms. He is currently working on Mahdawi v. Trump. Though he planned—twice—to return to India, his path kept unfolding in New York. Friendships and referrals from I-House peers drew him back time and again, eventually establishing him as a leading voice in immigration law. Mehta credits I-House not so much with shaping his career, but with deeply influencing his worldview....

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....

Resident Spotlight: Anna Avdiushchenko (Ukraine)

Written by International House on April 26, 2022. Posted in News Archive.

Meet Dr. Anna Avdiushchenko, who joined the International House community in March 2022 from Ukraine by way of Poland to conduct a short-term research project related to creating local development policies based on a circular economy in urban environments. A professor at Poland’s Jagiellonian University and a mother of two young children, Anna shares with us a little bit about her work in sustainable development and her experience living at I-House with her family. Tell us about yourself. Where are you from, and what are you studying?I am originally from Ukraine and have been...

Resident Spotlight: Sasha Potter (Scotland)

Written by International House on April 12, 2022. Posted in News Archive.

Meet International House resident Alexandra “Sasha” Potter, who joins our community from Scotland. Sasha is a graduate student in the Climate and Society Masters Program at Columbia University, where she also holds a graduate research assistantship at the National Centre for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) exploring the economic value of disaster resilience. Attendees of our recent event featuring sustainability experts Jeffrey D. Sachs and Andy Darrell will be familiar with Sasha already, as she served as the moderator of this very important discussion on sustainable...