After Elizabeth Debraggio '07 (Clinton, N.Y.) worked at the Utica Refugee Center as part of her sophomore seminar last year, she coupled this experience with her economics background to formulate an idea for a summer research project. This summer, Debraggio, who has worked on campus for the past several summers, is a Levitt Fellow, conducting research for a project titled "September 11 and the Effect on Immigrant Composition and Wages."
"I'm trying to determine if there was an economic effect on the immigrant population following September 11th, by pulling data from the current population survey released by the U.S. Census," Debraggio explained.
An economics major and philosophy minor, Debraggio is working with Paul Hagstrom, associate professor of economics, who studies refugees and immigrants. She added that they are isolating an immigrant sample from the U.S. Census survey and may analyze Arab immigrants in particular. With the Arab sample, they will determine whether economic discrimination has occurred within this group, since the 9/11 terrorists were of Arab descent.
Debraggio said of conducting research, "It's a great way to establish more intimate relationships with professors in an atmosphere that is more laid back than during the school year."
While Debraggio is currently spending seven hours a day researching for her project, and meets weekly with her advisor, she is also preparing for an upcoming year abroad at Oxford University in England.
To enhance student research around issues of public affairs, the
Levitt Center funds student-faculty research through its Levitt
Research Fellows Program. The program is open to all students who wish
to spend the summer working in collaboration with a faculty member on
an issue related to public affairs. Students receive a summer stipend
and some expense money, and spend 10 weeks in the summer working
intensively with a faculty mentor. Those selected for the program are
required to provide a written assessment of their work at the
completion of the summer, and also give a public presentation of their
research findings to the Hamilton community, or local high school
classes through the Levitt Scholars program.
-- by Katherine Trainor
