Miguel Albornoz - INTA 2012

What is your current position? 

I am a Research Scientist with NORC at the University of Chicago's International Programs department, where I research international development programs funded by the US Government.

How did the International Affairs major prepare you for this? 

In a class on international development, we were assigned to read Poor Economics by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo. This book ignited my interest in the role that research, and specifically impact evaluation, can have on promoting the wellbeing of vulnerable and marginalized people around the world. I began studying research methods at JMU, continued my studies in graduate school, and have now worked on over a dozen program evaluations in my career. Many of these used impact evaluation methods that I first learned about at JMU.