# @princetonspia on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/B4C3oP9B3uo
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/20742538-princetonspia-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/b801804e03.jpg
- **Posted:** 2019-10-25T14:38:53.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Princeton SPIA (@princetonspia) — https://gondola.cc/princetonspia

## Caption

#WooWho: “I was born and raised in the #Bronx; my mom was a community organizer and my dad built low-income housing. My parents modeled for me and my siblings the importance of doing work that serves people. After studying #anthropology at uncchapelhill, I worked internationally for several years. There were times when I would feel embarrassed by my presence in poor rural villages because it was so obvious that I had no skills to immediately help anyone there. At one point I was working for worldfoodprogramme on a food security assessment in #Burma, trying to determine if the country was producing enough food to feed its people. We were traveling by helicopter and arrived in a remote village where I surveyed a man who lived in a small hut with his wife and three kids under age 5. I asked a question about protein consumption, and he answered that they infrequently eat meat because they only are able to when he goes into an adjacent national sanctuary and poaches a monkey. He gestured to an old rifle and shared that he smelts bullets out of scrap metal. I remember thinking, ‘I don’t belong here. I need to go home and work on problems that I know, where I can be authentic.’ I am a New Yorker. I have an interest in cities, people, and systems — understanding them and how they interact. After I complete my Master in Public Policy I will return to #NewYork, and my hope for this degree is to acquire concrete skills to make me better at my work. I’m taking a class on program evaluation and legal skills for policymakers, which will be relevant in my work next year but also 10 years from now. I’m also exploring the most effective mechanisms for change, trying to evaluate what organizations are effective at having an impact.” – Aaron Charlop-Powers MPP ’20. (Photo by eganjimenez) #Princetagram ***** #WooWho is a Wilson_School Instagram series featuring our community. Want to be featured? Comment or direct message us.

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 65
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 0

## Tags

newyork, princetagram, burma, anthropology, woowho, bronx

---
Copyright (c) Gondola