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As a CCLA Fellow, Harry Huy Do ’24 (math, economics) researched and wrote about Dickinson-Carlisle collaboration during the pandemic. “I was amazed by how the college and community moved closer together in times of need,” says Do, who also led a Carlisle-focused service trip in 2021; served a research internship as an undergrad research fellow at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College; and earned runner-up honors in the  Berkeley Economic Review Essay Contest.

Hometown:

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Majors: 

Mathematics and quantitative economics.

Clubs and organizations:  

Center for Civic Learning & Action (research coordinator and service-trip leader), Dickinson Vietnamese Student Association (vice president), Orientation (student-assistant), Quantitative Reasoning Center (tutor) and economics, math/computer science departments (teaching assistant/tutor).

Honors/scholarships/awards:

Social Security Administration Undergrad Research Fellowship 2022 (Center for Retirement Research); PREDOC/OI (Harvard University Department of Economics) 2022 summer-course grant; Berkeley Economic Review (UC Berkeley Department of Economics) Essay Contest (runner-up, 2021); and Dean’s List.

Favorite book:

Who Gets What—and Why by Alvin E. Roth.

Favorite movie:

The Godfather.

Best thing about my major:

I regret the common misconception that economics only deals with inflation, the Fed, taxes—all the big stuff. Modern econ is fun, relevant and impactful. It seeks to answer questions ranging from the familiar to the ambiguous to “Wow, I never thought of that.”

What makes us want to buy stuff from Amazon but not eBay? Does trading with China and Mexico “take away” jobs from the U.S.? How should we understand student loans? Econ has an answer for each of these questions, and that excites me.

On choosing Dickinson:

I like the small classes and the close-knit community. Elsewhere it could be hard to find 30 minutes within your professor’s schedule, but at Dickinson, professors are happy to talk if you reach out to them.

Favorite place on campus:

The High Street Residence Hall.

Favorite class:

It would have to be my First-year Seminar. I enjoy writing, and I am very curious about migration history. This seminar combined both of those interests.

ºìÐÓÖ±²¥app my internship:

This past summer I was an undergrad research fellow at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Being a research assistant in Boston is an interesting, enlightening, humbling and intellectually fulfilling experience, all at the same time. It showed me what research looks like as a practitioner. This experience taught me how to persist and stay focused.

Best thing about my Dickinson experience so far:

I can read five papers, laugh so hard twice in the Caf and go to two parties—all in one day.

ºìÐÓÖ±²¥app my service trip:

In fall 2021 Dickinson’s service trip focused on the Carlisle community. We helped renovate and reorganize supplies for local affordable-housing projects; served breakfast at New Life Community Church; and helped out with a project in Shippensburg. The sense of community and connection was strongly felt, simply because it's the immediate locale that we know too little about and too often take for granted.  

ºìÐÓÖ±²¥app my work with the CCLA:

I helped research and co-author the Dickinson Community Impact Assessment. We looked back to the Dickinson-Carlisle organic relationship during the past three years, which coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic, to see what went well and what went south. I was amazed by how the college and the community moved closer together in times of need. There was the Carlisle Action Network, the community COVID website hosted by Dickinson, the COVID response panel of community leaders and many other initiatives. Really impressive and fascinating. 

As I kid, I wanted to be …

… a math teacher, a priest, an architect (too many things).

Post-Dickinson plans:

My hope, for now, is to get into a good econ Ph.D. program, which requires lots of work, determination and some creativity and imagination.

If I could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, it would be …

… Bob Dylan.

Advice to younger students:

Go on a service trip with CCLA! It’s a fun learning experience that you’d never forget. Helping others also helps you.

Most important thing I’ve learned so far:

The best way to learn is by doing. This applies to almost everything.

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Published December 2, 2022