Nepal's work as an advocate and caseworker in service of South Asian women and refugees in the greater Boston area sparked her interest in pursuing a public policy degree.
The LBJ School of Public Affairs, in partnership with the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), announced today that Sadikshya Nepal (MGPS '20) has been named the first immigration policy fellow on the organization's immigration and cross-border policy team. The LBJ School and the BPC select an LBJ alum to work at BPC for one to two years on research and writing projects in the area of immigration.
"This is yet another example of how are students benefit from the policy networks developed by our faculty," said LBJ School Dean Angela Evans. "It is experiences like this that not only provide our students with intimate knowledge of policymaking at the highest levels of government, but also the opportunity to contribute to its results."
"Congratulations to Sadikshya for being chosen for this exceptional opportunity at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said LBJ Professor Ruth Wasem, a BPC policy fellow. "I am looking forward to working with her on BPC's immigration and cross-border policy team and strengthening the partnership between the LBJ School and BPC."
BPC Welcomes First Immigration Policy Fellow (Bipartisan Policy Center, June 8, 2020)
An immigrant herself, Nepal moved from Nepal to the United States with her family when she was 16 years old. As a graduate student at the LBJ School, she specialized in migration and focused her research on U.S. immigration policy issues. Prior to beginning her fellowship at BPC, Nepal was a fellow at the Center for Migration Studies of New York, a research assistant at Innovations for Peace and Development, and a program coordinator at Harvard University’s Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning.
During her yearlong fellowship, her research will focus primarily on the economic and fiscal contributions of immigrants, the role of immigrants in the workforce, and immigrants and changing labor trends. Immigration fellows will support BPC and BPC Action—BPC's 501(c)(4) affiliate—in effectively finding common ground and making the case for bipartisan compromises in the immigration reform debate.