Nima Dahir and Jackson Frazier (economics and mathematics) and fellow student Abd Al-Rahman Traboulsi (biomedical engineering), won the Resolution Social Venture Challenge (SVC) at the 2016 Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) conference on April 2. The SVC — a business-plan style competition designed to inspire university students to propose solutions to pressing social issues around the world — is hosted by The Resolution Project in partnership with the Clinton Foundation. This year’s competition saw 133 proposals, leading to 55 teams in the semi-finals and 33 teams in the finals. 

The Dahir, Frazier and Traboulsi team was one of 20 team winners selected for a Resolution Fellowship. As recipients of the Resolution Fellowship, the trio will receive $6,000 in seed funding and ongoing mentoring and support for their project, Refuge, which takes its name from the Ohio State student organization they founded in early 2016 to empower adolescent refugee youth in the U.S.    

“The goal of Refuge is to establish an online community to promote intercultural exchange between refugees and American student partners, culminating in an immersion experience at Ohio State,” said Frazier, Refuge curriculum coordinator. “We want to transform higher education from a far-off aspiration to a tangible reality for young refugees.” 

Dahir and the Refuge team will spend the summer conducting a needs assessment among refugees in Ohio and finalizing an immersion plan that will pair young refugees with Ohio State students beginning in fall 2017.

“We believe every adolescent refugee deserves an equal opportunity to pursue a higher education," said Dahir, Refuge outreach coordinator.

Hollie Nyseth Brehm, professor of sociology, is the Refuge team advisor. “I could not be more impressed with the students’ mission and vision for this amazing organization. Refuge will provide an important path for Ohio State students to respond to the current refugee crisis.”

Dahir and Frazier are fourth year students. Both are research assistants in the Department of Economics.