A summer deep dive into economics
STUDENT EXPERIENCE
For many Richmond students, the first years of college are about exploring their options for majors and career paths. This summer, three students took that investigation to Chicago and Washington, D.C., where they delved into the field of economics.
Rising sophomores Douae Aghezzaf and Brian Botero and rising junior Stephen Abadir participated in the Expanding Diversity in Economics Summer Institute, which aims to increase diversity in the field by exposing undergraduates to career possibilities. More than 1,000 students applied, and they were among the 45 chosen to participate.
The institute is hosted by the University of Chicago’s Becker Friedman Institute and the Hutchins Center of Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution. Students spent two weeks in Chicago and a week in Washington, D.C., where they attended daily lectures, received technical training, and participated in group projects. They visited sites like the World Bank, the Federal Reserve Bank, and J.P. Morgan Chase’s research division. They also participated in a lunch and learn with Ben Bernanke, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Botero said his interactions with UChicago economics faculty and graduate students were impactful. He attended a boot camp to learn Stata, a data science tool used by economists and researchers. Taught by current doctoral students, they provided technical instruction and shared their experiences with graduate school. UChicago professors offered lectures on topics from healthcare to discrimination in hiring, complementing the hands-on component.
“It opened my eyes to a Ph.D., which I wasn’t even considering,” he said. “Now I feel like I have a lot more clarity on my path after my bachelor’s.”
Botero has since changed his major from the business economics program to mathematical economics. He wants to develop the quantitative skills to potentially work at the Federal Reserve, where he can participate in research that has a direct influence on public policy.
Abadir said his experience revealed that graduate school doesn’t have to be an immediate first step. He discovered that entry-level positions at the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Federal Reserve rely on technical skills like coding but don’t require advanced degrees.
“I didn’t know these positions existed,” said Abadir, who is majoring in economics. “I learned that you can still perform meaningful work and if you decide to go to graduate school later on, sometimes they will support that financially. I feel like I will now make a much more informed decision when it’s time to decide on the future.”
While the first two weeks of the EDE institute centered around academic research, students also heard from Nobel laureates, Federal Reserve leaders, authors, CFOs, and business executives.
Aghezzaf, an international student from Morocco who is planning to major in mathematical economics and computer science, said she went into the program with plans to work in finance or consulting after graduation. However, a session with John List — a former chief economist for both Uber and Lyft — made her rethink the role of research.
List talked about the immense databases at both companies and how he could immediately leverage that data to improve the services they offered. As the institute continued and Aghezzaf heard from more researchers, she began to realize how economics could play a role in shaping a variety of industries.
“This exposure made me consider research in economics as a potential career that I could pursue after graduation in multiple companies, think tanks, or organizations without necessarily renouncing my interest in finance,” she said. “The research made by these economists was not only words on paper — it helped impact lives in different ways and places around the world.”