Student Profile: Jack Honig, MPP Class of 2025

Jack Honig, MPP Class of 2025, said his diverse geographic experience informs his policy interests. “I grew up in Ashland, Virginia, which was more rural, then I moved to the larger city of Richmond, Virginia for high school. During high school, I had a summer internship experience in Amsterdam, and this spurred my interest in pursuing my undergraduate education in the Netherlands.”

Before beginning his undergraduate studies in Amsterdam, Honig worked for a Dutch insurance tech firm. "I focused on digitalization and market research, and it was the first time I was really out of my ‘American bubble.’ Learning new cultural norms provided an invaluable perspective to my business skills.”

While pursuing his degree in history from the University of Groningen, Honig also worked as a research assistant, where he discovered his passion for socioeconomic development work in South and Southeast Asia. "Through my research work—and classes—I came to appreciate how fascinatingly complex the region can be. Southeast Asia in particular spoke to me because of its unique status as a crossroads of civilization. Chinese, Indian Subcontinental, Arab, European, Japanese, American, and many other cultures have come and left their mark on the region. I also was able to use my past experiences in business to study trade and untapped markets, specifically in Vietnam. My BA thesis was on the role of rivers in modern Vietnamese urban-industrial development.”

Honig’s lived experiences also spurred his interest in rural development. “Growing up in a rural area and then living in the Netherlands allowed me to see the extreme social and cultural differences between rural and urban areas. I'd like to promote economic development policy that balances the pressures of modernity—namely urbanization and job centralization—with the interests of rural communities that are often left behind in the policy creation process. If not implemented correctly, policies have the potential to increase inequities, and I want to ensure this does not happen.”

After graduating, Honig said a policy degree was his natural next step. "Two of the most important factors when I was exploring policy schools were the diversity of the student body and the faculty impact," he said. And the Harris Master of Public Policy delivered on both counts. “Having fellow students coming from such different backgrounds and perspectives will build a strong global foundation for future collaboration and impact. I am also eager to work with professors who are making waves in the economic development field, such as Professor Raaj Sah, who focuses on centralization and public finance.”

Looking beyond Harris, Honig hopes to combine his interests in trade policy and rural development. "There’s a lot of economic development potential between Vietnam and the US, but having grown up in a more rural area, I’m aware there are needs of rural communities that should be addressed. For example, shifting manufacturing to Vietnam not only damages American rural economies—often based around a single economic sector or plant—but also Vietnamese rural communities, because investment spurs urbanization, which subsequently causes people to leave rural areas. I’d like to help ensure trade deals between the US and Vietnam will minimize risks to rural communities in both countries to make the outcomes more economically and socially desirable."

Honig shared this advice for those considering a graduate education and future career in policy: “I think people should ask themselves: who are the colleagues I want supporting me? With whom do I want to exchange ideas? Who do I want in my network? For me, Harris’ professors and students are those people.”