Alumni News at the Institute

Alumni Highlight
Avner Gvaryahu
Tuesday, November 25, 2025

Avner Gvaryahu, Human Rights Studies M.A. ‘17, is the recipient of the 2025 New Israel Fund’s Human Rights Award, a recognition that highlights his courageous leadership and unwavering commitment to justice. This honor celebrates his years of dedicated advocacy and his powerful work amplifying the voices of those affected by the ongoing conflict, and his desires for peace. Read more about Avner’s professional and academic background below. 

Alumni Highlight
Carly Sandstrom
Thursday, September 18, 2025

Carly Sandstrom graduated from the Human Rights Studies M.A. (HRSMA) program in 2024. She shares her experience during her time as a student at Columbia.

Please share a bit about yourself and the work that you do

I graduated from ISHR with my MA in human rights studies in 2024. Following my studies, I worked at a behavioral health non-profit in rural Michigan as the grant administrator. I am currently a PhD student in political science at Notre Dame where my research focuses on themes of democracy, human rights, political violence, and armed conflict. 

Congratulations to HRSMA Alum, Gaisu Yari, on receiving the 2025 Outstanding Recent Alumni Award
Monday, May 12, 2025
Gaisu Yari, HRSMA 2018, was selected as a recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Recent Alumni Award. The award ceremony took place on April 28, 2025.The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) Outstanding Recent Alumni Award honors individuals who have graduated within the past ten years and have excelled in early stages of their careers, exemplifying what GSAS alumni can achieve.
HRSMA Alum Awarded Davis Fellowship
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Daniil Alekseev, a recent graduate from the M.A. in Human Rights program, was awarded the Davis Fellowship. This fellowship is a merit award funded by a $10 million bequest from the late Kathryn Wasserman Davis, 1931 Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Undergraduate Alum Chosen for Kristof Award and FASPE Ethics Fellowship
Thursday, August 1, 2024

Trisha Mukherjee, Human Rights major CC ‘21, has been chosen to receive  Nicholas Kristof’s “Win a Trip” Award. Kristof, a New York Times Opinion columnist, selects one student from an American university to accompany him on an international reporting trip. Trisha, who also graduated from Columbia Journalism School in May 2024, will travel and report with him in Madagascar, Mauritius, and Kenya for 2 weeks this winter.

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