A full quarter of all immigrants entering the United States are from Asia, and two-thirds of all Asian-Americans were foreign born (Le). The substantial Asian-American population gives rise to a number of sociological questions that derive from humanitarian, legal, economic, and policy issues. As an undergraduate I have investigated the broad concerns of the immigrant communities in the United States as well as the specific concerns of local Asian communities. In addition to gaining a working knowledge of the applications of sociological study I have been able to envision career work in public policy work related to US immigration policy and support infrastructures for the Asian-American community. For example, recent immigrants need social services ranging from immediate welfare needs to English language instruction. The concerns of social workers, business organizations, and educators can be addressed via sociological research methods. Moreover, sociological research can inform federal and legal policies related to immigration and immigrant social services.

             The research interests I hope to pursue as a graduate student include patterns of immigration and settling: how Asian immigrants form cohesive Asian-American communities; where they form those communities; and the impact of those communities on the overall business and social cultures in the United States. The contribution of the Asian-American community to the economy and to the cultural diversity of the country are also issues of concern to me, and I hope in particular to investigate the experiences of diverse Asian communities including Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, Philippine, and other South-East Asian. How individual communities perceive their identity and how their identity changes with ensuing generations of American residents are also questions of interest. A rigorous Master's program in sociology will allow me to focus my interests further, with a primary objective of contributing to academic research and eventually, of bolstering the services offered to recent Asian immigrants to the United States.