Rebecca Tan is a junior double-majoring in Geography and English. Under the URSP, Rebecca will be completing her Departmental Honors thesis in Geography. Her thesis seeks to understand why two demographically similar immigrant groups may have different assimilation outcomes in America. She will compare Cuban and Laotian immigrants, both of whom arrived in large numbers as political refugees around 1980, receiving extensive assistance from the US government. Segmented assimilation theory suggests these two groups should have similar assimilation outcomes but that has not been the case. Via fieldwork and a critique of segmented assimilation theory, Rebecca hopes to generate more insights on the complexities and determinants of immigrant assimilation. In the future, Rebecca hopes to continue her involvement in research and education.