Degree Pursued: PhD

Anticipated Degree Year: 2025

Committee Chair/Advisor: Renata Leitao

Discipline: Apparel Design

Primary Language: Mandarin, English

Degree Pursued: PhD

Anticipated Degree Year: 2027

Discipline: Economics

Primary Language: Vietnamese, English

Research Interest: My research area is public policy and development economics. My past works include (1) productivity improvement from land consolidation program in Viet Nam, and (2) comparison of Covid policies in Asia. My future plan involves universal basic incomes in the Southeast Asia area.

Degree Pursued: PhD

Anticipated Degree Year: 2030

Committee Chair/Advisor: Derek Chang

Discipline: (Asian) American History

Primary Language: Vietnamese

Research Interest: Saomai is interested in US empire and militarism, Third World struggles and imaginations, and intergenerational refugee repertoires of storytelling as competing but interconnected projects of knowledge production.

Xintong Chen studies the auditory cultures of migration across the South China Sea from the 17th to 20th centuries. Her research uncovers how sound and listening practices created shared “cultural commons” among diverse groups of migrants and sojourners, offering a new perspective on migration as a lived and cultural process beyond political or economic frameworks.

Degree Pursued: PhD

Anticipated Degree Year: 2029

Committee Chair/Advisor: Eric Tagliacozzo

Discipline: Southeast Asian History

Priyanka Sen is a Ph.D. candidate in the HAUD program. Her research investigates architectural entanglements with spatial geographies, migration and environmental histories, focusing on the South Asian diaspora and its intertwinement with settlement, citizenship, and the transnational immigrant experience.

Degree: PhD, Near Eastern Studies

Language: Persian

Research interests: Jewish and Muslim diasporas, Sufism, and Persian literature

Michael Dekhtyar is a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, minoring in International Trade and Development. On campus, he served as Vice President of The Cornell Diplomat and Managing Editor for the Cornell International Affairs Review. Currently, Michael is spending his summer interning at the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs in DC, where he hopes to build a career in global trade, infrastructure and industrial policy, and international affairs.

Molly Goldstein is a rising junior in the School of Arts & Sciences, double majoring in Government and Near Eastern Studies and minoring in dance. Throughout her studies, Molly has become passionate about the intersection of international relations, human rights, and conflict resolution, taking classes in areas that help her understand how countries cooperate to advance shared goals. She hopes to continue exploring foreign policy initiatives and innovative ways to build bridges between countries across the globe. 

Degree Pursued: PhD

Anticipated Degree Year: 2029

Committee Chair/Advisor: Juno Parreñas

Discipline: Science & Technology Studies

Primary Language: Tagalog/Filipino

Research Countries: Philippines, United States

Ainav Rabinowitz was a Laidlaw Scholar and the Founder of the publication Women of MENA, Cornell’s premiere gender studies publication that focused on gender and culture studies of the Middle East and North Africa Region.