Student Profiles

Emily Anderson has been a star both in, and outside of, the classroom.  You might check out the Quad Anlges where the lead story in the Winter 2005 edition was on Emily. In that story Emily's political science mentor describes her as “amazing,” and I can assure you that Emily's Political Science mentor was on target with his description.  I have known Emily from those first days in that introductory economics class, and been fortunate enough to see her mature through a few ECN classes and many career possibilities.  She promises that she is really on to one now.  Emily wants to eventually earn a PhD and return to the classroom, this time as the instructor. If she settles on this, I am certain she will do it.  

In recognition of her excellence in the classroom, Emily has received the Nancy McKinstry Scholarship in Economics for two years in a row, plus the Duffy Family Endowed Scholarship this year, and the Mark and Donna Ross Endowed Scholarship in the Arts and Sciences and the David Warren Scholarship last year. 

Outside of the classroom, Emily has been quite successful on the track. After a successful high school career, Emily moved on to URI's Track and Field Program,” and her success followed her here where she runs both track and cross-country. Emily was selected as URI’s outstanding freshman athlete in 2002-03, and at last year's Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships, she finished second in the mile and won the 1,000 meters, prompting her coach, Laurie Feit-Melnick, to write that “Emily is one of the best middle distance runners in the history of the URI." 

And in her "spare" time Emily has served in Professor AL Killileas's Mentor/Tutor Internship, tutoring local children who were falling behind in school, and this year she will be a leader in MTI in charge of classes where younger URI students talk about their experience as volunteers in schools.  Emily has also been a driving force behind efforts to establish a van system at the University to help reduce drinking and driving problems, and is currently working in the Provost's Office as an intern.

Mark Hinchliffe is took a somewhat unusual path through URI with his double major in Philosophy and Economics, and he has excelled at both. In addition to being enrolled in the University's Honors Program, Mark is a member of Phi Betta Kappa and in 2004 he received the President's award in Philosophy that goes to the Department's best student.  Mark has also had some experience on the other side of the desk, serving as a TA for Ric McIntyre's ECN100 class and working in Professor AL Killileas's Mentor/Tutor Internship program where he tutored math for 6th graders at the Curtis Corner Middle School.  When not in the classroom, Mark could be found playing volleyball for the URI team, or working on his comics for the Cigar.  Mark's artistic talents were quite evident in his senior honors project "I am Erica: Reflections on An Amnesiac."  This was a graphic novella inspired by post 9/11America, and in November he gave a gallery talk in Lippett Hall where his work was displayed.  More recently Mark, with the help of Michaela McCaughey, organized an extremely successful Art auction held at the University Club. At the “Rhody Artists for Rhody Evacuees” auction, works by well-known Rhode Island artists were auctioned off to support the University’s fund to build a Habitat for Humanity house for victims of Hurricane Katrina, and the event exceeded all expectation when it raised over $6,000.  Maybe in the future we'll get Mark to help with some fundraising efforts for the Department.  Or maybe we'll get Mark to do a Department video using the skills he learned while working as a research assistant for a filmmaker exploring inequities of CEO compensation.  After his graduation in January, Mark will be taking a position with the American Federation of Teachers in Washington, and we wish him the best in the efforts to apply his considerable skills and talents to improving the education system in the US.

Jake Goldman never though much about Economics at URI when he left West Hartford, CT and arrived at URI in the Fall of 2000, but he now finds himself adding a minor in Economics to his "other" minor in film studies and a major in Management Information Systems (MIS).  What appealed to Jake about Economics was "its usefulness outside the 'office' and classroom. The principals and theories I have studied so far (and I suspect they're only the top of the iceberg) have enabled me to make better personal decisions. Some have been financial, some have as basic as "what to do tonight." I have no doubt that when I need to handle a mortgage or loan -- or even ask for a raise -- that my economics knowledge will be invaluable.

Why do I enjoy and study in Economics? There's some statistic that says we only use some miniscule percentage of what we learn. The formulas, precise methods, and narrow thinking often focused on in other disciplines -- while important and interesting -- are probably among the lost knowledge. The big picture, and conceptual, practical understanding emphasized in economics has stuck with me the most thus far, and I suspect in the long run as well."

While some may find Economics and film to be a strange combination, Jake finds it to be a natural. "As a student also minoring in film, I am attracted to the issues of social justice explored in economics. The history component of economics often allows me to better understand and critique movies from different points in modern history. For example, understanding the questions of the late 60's / early 70's is crucial to more fully "understanding" classics "The Graduate" and "Taxi Driver." Likewise, understanding financial policies of the 80's is key in analyzing "Wall Street." 

We have been happy to have Jake in the Department and we have been rather nice to him in the hopes that he will not do that expose on the Department, because to date he has been quite successful with his films.  In the 2001 URI Film Festival Jake earned 2nd Place in commercial / PSA division for a joint entry ("The Veridian Patch")  and a 3rd Place in experimental division for joint entry ("STAB") and Honorable Mention in experimental division for personal entry ("distant") in the 2002 URI Film Festival.  

When Jake is not in class or working on his films, Jake is either playing soccer or working at the Hillel Foundation where he is currently the Vice President.   or running a small consulting business where he is honing those IT skills at web development that will serve him well with a degree in MIS.   And along the way Jake has managed to garner a few honors - he has been inducted into the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Phi Eta Sigma (National Freshmen Honors Society), and he received the Silverstein Award / Scholarship from URI Hillel Foundation for "leadership and commitment."

As for the future, Jake is interested in exploring several possibilities for career paths after college ... mostly in what he calls the "technical arts" that would include web design, new media, film, marketing. Within those fields, Jake would like to work in "creative" positions where he would be responsible for coming up with the ideas and then making them work. 

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Marek Kolodziej receives the award for having traveled the furthest for study in Economics.  Marek arrived at URI from Warsaw, Poland where he saw first-hand the effects of economic policy.  As Marek sees it, "people like Mankiw, Sachs or Samuelson are much more than just scholars - their thought has transformed the lives of a nation of 38 million people.  Jeffrey Sachs is not just another Harvard economist - he, along with Prof. Balcerowicz, former Polish finance minister, conceived a plan to transform the Polish economy from central planning to capitalism."  Marek brought his passion for economics to URI where he is a fixture on the eighth floor of Chafee.  On most mornings you will find him in discussions with faculty, while in the evenings you may find him working with introductory students.  Marek has been a Department tutor for the past few years and he has made quite a difference based on the remarks of those who have tracked him down for help.  In between you are likely to find Marek working with Jim Starkey's students since Marek was a TA for Jim's ECN202 class. 

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