“Diversity and Cognitive Bias at Work” Statement
I am currently a junior majoring in Economics and intending to minor in Public Policy. Following
undergrad, I intend to pursue a PhD in Economics with a concentration on economic development. Being
interested in economic development, I am interested in further learning about how the impact of a
program can be evaluated using RCTs. Thus, I believe that I have a lot to learn from this research project
as well as much to contribute.
In my senior year of high school, I conducted an independent research project on the extent to which
parental involvement influences academic achievement of students during their last 2 years of high
school. As part of this process, I conducted a 15-page literature review surveying current knowledge on
the relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement.
As a research apprentice for a project studying the association between early marriage and girls’
education in Nigeria, I was responsible for analyzing the interviews conducted with the girls and coding
for major themes. Taking these codes into account, I independently authored a memo focused on the
educational barriers confronting Nigerian girls.
As a research apprentice for a project studying the discursive context of universal basic income in India, I
was responsible for analyzing and communicating the arguments of academic works. Additionally, I was
able to gather further information on UBI in India by conducting and transcribing interviews with
scholars knowledgeable on the subject. Within one semester, all the necessary information was gathered
and used to create the “Basic income in India” Wikipedia page.
As an intern for the Berkeley Haas AMENA Center for Entrepreneurship and Development, I was
responsible for creating a database that accounted for measures such as innovation, governance, literacy,
and employment in Muslim majority countries. This involved assessing the quality of multiple sources of
publically available data, primarily from the World Bank and United Nations.
Additionally, this past summer I interned at Pakistan’s leading representative trade network for women
entrepreneurs, the Pakistan Women Entrepreneur Network for Trade. As an intern, I was assigned to
conduct an impact evaluation, assessing how WE-NET has addressed the challenges faced by Pakistani
women entrepreneurs. As part of my report, I created surveys and interviewed various women
entrepreneurs affiliated with the organization. I then analyzed the interviews in order to understand the
most pertinent concerns regarding policy recommendations to promote women in trade.
As former Student Health Director for the Associated Students of the University of California, I worked
on the grant writing process that secured an annual grant of $13,000 as part of an initiative to supply
menstrual products on campus for free, which will begin Fall 2018.
My interest in undertaking rigorous social science research is further supported by my intermediate and
advanced certifications in STATA, R, and Excel, which I have had the opportunity to utilize in courses
such as Principles of Data Science and Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory, analyzing large real-world
datasets.