This has been a busy year for the Economics Club at Iowa State. Early in the year, we took a trip to the Val Air Ballroom, where alumni Sam Summers gave us a private backstage tour of the historic venue, which he oversaw the restoration of. We thank Sam for sharing his knowledge of the music industry and the bar and restaurant industry. In May, we took a trip to the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting, where we witnessed history as Warren Buffett announced that he will be stepping down as the CEO of the company. During this trip, we also met Sachee Trivedi and learned about her history with Warren Buffett and what it takes to operate a mutual fund. After the shareholders meeting, we had dinner with local alumni who shared with us their career paths and talked about their time at Iowa State.
In April, we welcomed a panel of alumni with careers in the insurance industry, where alumni Amanda Winterboer, Rick Beam, and Phil Sherman shared with us about their careers and some advice for students who are looking to enter the insurance industry. Also in April, the Economics Department had the honor of hosting Glenn Hubbard for a talk about his new book The Wall and the Bridge. Dr. Hubbard was the Dean of Columbia Business School from 2004–2019 and served as the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors for George W. Bush (2001–2003).
This fall, the club has hosted two alumni panels and two guest speakers from the Economics Department. The alumni panels included one for preparing students for the upcoming career fair, where members asked questions to Adeline Meyer and Tyler Horne about how they prepared for the career fair and what they are doing with their economics background post-graduation. The other alumni panel was about the data science industry. We welcomed alumni Ben Monroe, Heather Moore, and Quinn Mueller to speak with members about breaking into the data science industry with a background in economics and what they are currently doing in industry.
In October, we listened to Professor John Winters’ talk on migration in the Midwest titled “Human Capital in the Heartland,” where we saw data on migration patterns for different educational and cultural backgrounds and speculation as to what may be causing the outcomes we see. In November, we hosted Professor John Crespi, who gave a talk about an emerging sector of economics research: neuroeconomics. His research examines decision-making on a neurological level using brain imaging scans. This was an interesting talk that had us thinking differently about approaches to analyzing economic decision-making and was very entertaining.
We look forward to this upcoming spring, when we will be heading back to Omaha, NE for the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting and hearing from alumni and faculty members. We have had a busy but enjoyable year and look forward to more club events.