Meet Jack Starling, a senior who is majoring in economics.
Why did you choose Economics as your major?
Unlike other majors here at MSU, our economics program most of all fosters a unique, analytical approach for confronting new problems. More importantly than the individual topics tackled by each economics course, the major overall works to instill an economic intuition, built upon critical thinking, that can be used every day. That's what drew me to the major and what has kept me interested in economics through the most challenging periods — the courses work together to build valuable skills in absorbing and synthesizing new information to create effective solutions and dynamic next steps.
What has been your favorite Economics class so far and why?
It isn't easy to pick a favorite. However, EC332 — Monetary Policy Analysis for the Fed Challenge — was uniquely rewarding. While other economics classes were largely concerned with economic theories and predicting the effects of hypothetical changes within the economy, EC332 necessitated a detailed analysis of current, real-world measures of the health of the United States economy, putting those fundamentals of economic theory into practice. Students were asked to analyze and interpret these measures and propose an appropriate monetary policy response for the United States Federal Reserve. The questions were no longer hypothetical, but concretely tied to the everyday experience of American consumers. This class also provided a platform for students to showcase and improve their presentation and public speaking skills, submitting their collaborative policy proposals to be judged in the College Fed Challenge, competing against some of the foremost economics programs in the country.
What are you looking forward to this year academically?
This year, I am most looking forward to taking my senior seminar during the Spring semester. Along with graduation and my application to law schools, this economics capstone will serve as the endpoint of my undergraduate education. This isn't to say that I'm excited for things to be over, but rather I'm excited for things to finally come together. I hope this senior seminar will allow me to put into practice the skills that I've built throughout the economics curriculum, showing myself how much I have learned and grown over my college career.