Lisa Haayen

PhD    Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, 2014

After completing my undergraduate education, I worked as an Account Planner at The Richards Group, a nationally-ranked advertising agency located in Dallas. Account Planning is the art of getting inside the head of a client's consumers and becoming their voice within a marketing organization. Through this work, I logged thousands of hours of research, drawing on social science methodologies, and it gave me the opportunity to develop the skills of close observation, insightful analysis, and precise reporting. Last fall, I began the cultural anthropology Ph.D. program because I had long felt that my interests and abilities in understanding people could be best put to use in teaching and research in this field. There are a growing number of contemporary issues that benefit from an anthropological perspective, and my goal is to contribute as a teacher and scholar, but also as an advocate and problem solver. My research interests include immigration, the second-generation children of immigrants, and the educational opportunities these youth and their parents receive in their destination countries.

Title of Dissertation: "My Friends Make Me Who I Am: An Exploration of the Role of Friendship Among Second-Generation Mexican Youth in a Diverse Dallas Neighborhood."

Entered program in 2009

Region of Study:

North America