Below are a few samples of my academic work. These are projects I completed for different classes in my Higher Education and Student Affairs MA program. Download links are included for each sample—please note that any projects with a Google Docs link require an NYU email address to view. If you’d like to view one of these restricted projects but are not an NYU student or employee, send me an email using the Contact link above and I’ll send you a copy for offline reading.
LITERATURE REVIEW
From Recognition to Liberation:
Coming Out in College and Breaking the Cycle of Cisheterosexist Socialization
For HPSE-GE 2161: Diversity in Higher Education
I investigate the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals in college, focusing on why the median age for coming out often occurs during the undergraduate years. I propose my model of the multi-stage coming out process, explore external factors that cause individuals to delay openness about their identity, articulate my theory as to why higher education institutions can be an ideal environment for coming out, suggest changes institutions can make to be more supportive of queer individuals, and note limitations of existing literature which tends to disproportionately center the experiences of cisgender gay men.
DEVELOPMENT THEORY
Recursive Sandbox Theory
For HPSE-GE 2069: College Student Learning and Development
I propose a theory of student development which views student life through the lens of a sandbox environment, borrowing from both the gaming and software development definitions. According to this theory, the college environment acts as a sandbox environment around a student’s micro- and mesosystems (Bronfenbrenner, 1977), whereby external factors are still present and exerting influence on the lower levels, but the sandbox acts as a semi-permeable barrier between the inner levels and outer levels. Within this environment, students can experiment with their increased autonomy while enjoying a certain level of protection from enduring consequences. I suggest that it is incumbent on higher education institutions to provide the tools students need to explore different areas of development, to maximize personal development in a safe environment.
RESEARCH PAPER
Higher Education in the United States:
Government as Investor, Regulator, and Central Planner
For HPSE-GE 2090: Foundations of Higher Education
I explore the role of the United States federal government in shaping the higher education landscape. Despite the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution reserving authority over education to state and local governments, the federal government has functioned as the primary investor, regulator, and central planner of American higher education. I examine how, at every major inflection point in American higher ed, the federal government has used financial incentives and conditional spending to shape, expand, and reform the system, thereby creating a powerful, de facto executive authority over institutions. While this relationship historically tended to be mutual beneficial, recent political shifts highlight the system’s critical vulnerability to political actors exploiting this leverage, transforming the government’s investment into a powerful lever to coerce and punish ideological dissent.
MOCK PROPOSAL
Water, Stone, and Silicon: Sustainable Development from the Inca Empire to Today
An NYU Faculty-Led Study Away Proposal
For HPSE-GE 2045: Internationalization and Study Abroad
This paper outlines a (mock) proposed study away offering for students at NYU, primarily those at the Tandon School of Engineering. The proposal addresses the growing global trend of STEM students engaging in study abroad, specifically identifying a gap in NYU’s existing international program offerings for these students. It details a new three-week, three-credit, faculty-led study away program in Cusco, Peru. The course is designed to use the historical and ecological landscape of Cusco as a living laboratory. Students will examine the engineering ingenuity of the Incas, focusing on sustainable development techniques. The curriculum then pivots to analyzing critical contemporary challenges in the Andean region (such as urban pollution and glacial retreat) using emerging digital technologies like GIS, AI, and air quality sensors. The program is structured to provide course equivalency for students in select engineering, science, and urban planning programs, culminating in a Capstone Project that synthesizes historical wisdom with environmental science data to propose new solutions to modern problems.