Illinois State University’s Department of Economics students joined hundreds of economists throughout the Midwest and elsewhere in April to attend the 2023 Midwest Economics Association (MEA) annual conference.
The three-day conference trip to Cleveland, Ohio, was led by Professor of Economics Susan Chen, who serves as the undergraduate program director and the advisor to the Undergraduate Women in Economics (UWE) club. “Economics majors typically conduct research and creative activities on campus, including annual research symposia, independent studies, and in-course honors projects,” said Chen, who noted that students can benefit tremendously from attending the conference. “It has provided great opportunities that would otherwise be difficult to access, such as interacting and networking with professionals in academics and industry from a wide range of expertise and geography.”
Aside from learning economics from different sessions, students listened to Lisa D. Cook of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System at the MEA’s 2023 C. Woody Thompson Lecture and were even able to exchange conversations with Dr. Cook following the lecture. All undergraduate students also participated in the Undergraduate Social organized by the MEA to network with fellow undergraduates across the Midwest.
Attendees said they appreciated the opportunity and sharing the experience with peers outside the classroom. “It was interesting to learn how an economics conference operates and the type of sessions that are held,” said graduating senior Enrique Aguirre. A dual major in economics and finance and a 2022-2023 Bone Scholar, Aguirre noted he enjoyed his first time attending a professional conference. As the vice president of the UWE, he was particularly interested in a session specific to gender-related issues where he learned about the discussion portion of sessions, experimental economics, and even the application of game theory, a course he is currently taking for his senior capstone.
First-year graduate student Kathryn Keithley ’23 presented her research on the employer learning effect, supervised by Dr. Dimitrios Nikolaou, Associate Professor of Economics. “I all-around fell in love with economics more than I thought possible,” said Keithley.
Other students expressed their excitement at the experience. Jack Marsalla, a junior managerial economics major, said attending the conference helped him better understand and explore the different areas of economics. “This trip gave me a better idea of different types of research others are doing,” said Marsalla.
Graduating sociology and economics double-major Wyatt Frere said attending the MEA conference was a greatly beneficial experience and gained invaluable information about the way these events work. “I hope to attend more as I work towards a Ph.D. in economics in the future,” said Frere, who added that besides the conference’s educational aspects, there was a truly meaningful social component. “Spending more time with my peers and professors has started some good friendships and expanded existing networking opportunities,” he said. Frere will embark on his career as a Financial Institution Specialist (FIS) at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) following his May graduation.
Echoing students, Chen was grateful for the funding from the Provost Innovation and Enhancement (PIE) grant and the College of Arts and Sciences to have made this trip possible. “I was very touched that all students came to support my own presentation,” said Chen. “The energy was infectious. It was worth the efforts to put the trip together and made it a memorable experience for the students,” Chen added, noting through opportunities like this, the Department of Economics hopes to continue building a stronger and better economic curriculum.
