Meet Maryan El-hage

Maryan joined the Initiative in July 2022, as the first scholar to begin a PhDEI fellowship entirely at Stanford University. In spring 2022, she received a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics (Pure Mathematics) and a Bachelor of Science in Economics (Honors) from the University of Michigan.

Upon her graduation, the Department of Economics honored Maryan with the Harold D. Osterweil Memorial Prize, an annual award given to a senior in economics with the most outstanding academic record and the greatest social awareness.

During her senior year, Maryan served as TA for Dr. Edward Cho’s 400-level Law and Economics course, proctoring exams and grading tests, problem sets, lecture summaries, and article summaries for a class of 80 students.

For her honors thesis, Maryan investigated how the spread of COVID-19 impacts food security in the United States and explored the association between the stringency of state government responses and food security. This research aimed to uncover the ways that various socially and economically vulnerable groups face food (in)security in comparison to reference groups.

While an undergraduate, Maryan founded the Multicultural Economics Coalition as a sponsored student organization within the University of Michigan’s Economics Department and served as Co-President to oversee the executive board. Maryan established the Coalition to host professional-development, academic, and social events for underrepresented minority students in economics.

Maryan also promoted Arabic culture on campus and in the community of Ann Arbor through her involvement with the Arabesque Dance Troupe. From September 2019 through spring of 2022, she choreographed traditional Arabic dances for the troupe while overseeing, as Vice President, an executive board of 15 choreographers, managing organization finances through grant-writing, and managing communication with external entities for performances.

Entrance Interview: Economics in Her Own Words

  During the fall of my sophomore year at Michigan, I enrolled in introductory macroeconomics. One day, the professor spotlighted the honorees of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, and he explained, in simplified terms, the research that was recognized: how the offer of a free bag of lentils for families impacted child immunization. Through field experiments and their understanding of incentives through an economic lens, the researchers observed a boost in child immunization rates, kickstarting preventive healthcare in developing countries.

To me, this was eye-opening, and it represented the first time I really understood the power of economics put into practice.”
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Why the Excellence Initiative?

  As a first-generation college student in my senior year at the University of Michigan, I was grappling with the all-important question of “What’s next?” when I learned about the Initiative. Since I envision my future self in a rigorous economics doctoral program, I wanted a fellowship that would strengthen my skill set and prepare me both academically and professionally. I was drawn to the mentorship Dr. Henry provides through research, and I was searching for a program that would help me navigate the process of applying to graduate school—a task that, as a first-generation student, I would otherwise do on my own.

But being a Muslim, Arab American woman born to Lebanese immigrant parents, the most inviting aspect of PhDEI is its focus on aspiring economists of color. In my journey so far, I have observed the dominance of certain demographics in the field of economics, and this is what motivated me to co-found the Multicultural Economics Coalition at U of M. As a fellow of the Initiative, I am excited to be a part of a program that provides access to a network of diverse fellows, students, and research professionals. Meeting Dr. Henry in person only reaffirmed my desire to be involved in an inclusive, enriching community of academic excellence.”

Maryan plans to use her time in the Ph.D. Excellence Initiative both to broaden her understanding of the many sub-disciplines within the field of economics and to more precisely articulate the specific research questions that will motivate her years of doctoral work. She seeks to use her mathematical and quantitative skills to shed light on economic disparities that impact vulnerable communities, and she is especially interested in topics around educational attainment and health outcomes.