ABOUT ME
I am an academic researcher with primary interests in the field of education and the field of immigration/emigration. My secondary interests include the intersection between society and digital media.
My education research deals with state/federal/institutional/structural policies that impact education equity at the K-12 and higher education levels. To that end, I am interested in policies that increase college entrance rates, such as college promise programs, which are state/local policies aimed at college access. I also focus on certain school choice policies, such as those that allow for religious exemptions and homeschooling, and their impact on children's basic education rights, as well as the effect of federal/state policies on students with disabilities. Building off of a previous project on college persistence, I am working on an article that aims to measure college students' motivation to graduate from college and an article using the High School Longitudinal Study, 2009 (HSLS 09) to determine the relationship between parental social capital (as measured by time/money spent in schools and privately on their children’s education) and pursuing education at the BA and AA levels, while also controlling for race, class, gender, & GPA. My education scholarship has appeared in journals, such as Perspectives on Urban Education and Educational Policy, and other outlets, such as the Social Science Research Network, and The Star-Ledger. Coverage of my publication with Caitlin Killian [Drew University] on school choice policies can be found in the Fall 2023 newsletter from the Human Rights Section of the American Sociological Association (ASA) and the news section from Drew University.
My research on immigration/emigration focuses on immigration/emigration policy as it relates to Asian Americans and Asian America. Through a historical and political lens, I analyze how immigration/emigration policy influences the occupational and educational trajectories of Asian Americans. I study how the Immigration Act of 1965, which centered on abolishing immigration quotas deeply rooted in racism, the Immigration Act of 1990, which provided H1-B visas to educated immigrants, and immigration/migration trends specific to Indian-origin immigrants not seen in most other Asian ethnic groups, aided in the economic prosperity of Indian-origin immigrants and their children by providing exceptional educational and occupational opportunities. This particular research on migration/immigration policy is published in Contexts in their Summer 2022 issue.
In addition to education and immigration/emigration, I am interested in the intersection between digital media and society. Through the lens of political sociology and media studies, I research how digital media can be used as a force of change, such as advocating for social justice, and how the power elite could manipulate digital media to influence public perception, including perpetuating misinformation. I am particularly interested in how teaching the importance of identifying misinformation on online platforms can decrease the prevalence of misinformation so that social media can be primarily used as a force of change. Contexts published my scholarship on social media. The article is reprinted in a section of Chapter 7: Language, Media, and Culture in the textbook Imagining Society: An Introduction to Sociology (2nd edition) by Professor Catherine Corrigall-Brown [University of British Columbia].
I am a firm believer in public and government service. In addition to my academic roles, I am extensively involved with the Environmental Commission as an Environmental Commissioner and the Chair of the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC) in the Borough of Mountain Lakes. Moreover, I am currently an elected Board Member on the Board of Education in the Mountain Lakes School District. I was awarded New Board Member Boardsmanship Certification (NBM) from the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) for my service on the Board of Education. I have also served as a poll worker in the State of New Jersey. Lastly, I am a commissioned Notary Public in the State of New Jersey.