Alumni

Jonathan Dabel

Program
BA in Economics and Public Policy Leadership ( College of Liberal Arts )
Quick Intro
An economics and public policy leadership double major from Diamondhead, Jonathan set his sights on finding solutions to help solve economic inequality, inequity in the US school system, and poverty. He was selected among 16 students nationwide by the Every Learner Everywhere program to conduct research on educational equity with the National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies. He also interned with the Congressional Hunger Center where he conducted research on hunger issues. Dabel's paper on how food insecurity negatively impacts the upward mobility of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds was presented to university administrators and at a conference at the University of Maryland. On campus he was a Resident Assistant with Housing and Student Success coordinator for the First-Gen Network where he raised awareness of resources for international students. He was awarded the James Meredith Changemaker Award, Freshman Leader of the Year, Outstanding Achievement Award from the Men of Excellence, 2020 Outstanding Student Award by the Chamber of Commerce, Mississippi Scholar, and Class of 2020 Friendliest. His involvement included the Economics Club, African Caribbean Student Association, UNICEF at Ole Miss, Student Body Senator, and UM Food Bank. He also served as assistant to the Interim Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Community Engagement.

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Jonathan Dabel

image of Jonathan Dabel smiling at the camera

Changemaker

Why did you choose to attend UM?

I choose Ole Miss because gave me an opportunity like no other university to pursue my economics degree. Since I step foot on campus, I fell in love with it. The professors are very passionate about what they teach, which I believe is one of the greatest qualities to have as an instructor.

When and why did you choose your major(s)/minors?

My interest in majoring in economics started when I was a little kid living in Haiti. There I witnessed extreme poverty and lived through strong inequity and corruption. I was fortunate enough that my single mother could afford to put me in school and that I was a US citizen. living in an environment where poverty and corruption rule I sort of felt like it was my duty to find the responses to poverty, economic inequality, and inequity.

My interest in economics became stronger when I was sitting at graduation and realized that there were only a few of us African Americans graduating, some of them before reaching 12th grade had dropped out and others ended up getting arrested. This doesn’t only happen in my high school, it happens all over the United States and I know this issue has a strong relationship with economics and equal opportunity to resources.

Have you had an experience that made you feel empowered at UM?

Yes, the mentors! So many of the professors at the university care about their students. In the first week of school, I met two faculty members, and since they’ve been helping me succeed at the university. Them helping me makes me more passionate about attending Ole Miss.

What do you want to change about the world?

Economic inequality. The fact that when I am hungry I can just go get food, when I know there is a kid somewhere not being able to do the same makes me uncomfortable.

What are your career goals?

After college, I plan to work either in the nonprofit sector or the financial side of economics for a couple of years. Afterward, I plan to get my J.D. and research how to solve economic inequality in the U.S.