We asked Chase Abrams to write his reflections on winning the 2019 Stadelmann Scholarship and his plans after graduation. Chase graduated in May 2019 with a B.A. in economics and B.S. in mathematics with a minor in computer science.
I was pleasantly surprised to receive the award email for the Stadelmann in only the first week of December 2018. Aimed at economically-minded students, and awarded based on rigor of study, potentially any student in the economics department in the College of Arts and Sciences or business economics and public policy in the Kelley School of Business is eligible to win. Each of the two departments selects a student to nominate, and then these two students compete for the award. This process made it feel like I won twice: once by being nominated by the economics department, then again on the final selection.
Two months later, I was ecstatic to receive a phone call informing me of my admission into the doctoral economics program at the University of Chicago. I recall that from my first year in the economics department, I was intrigued by the content, but at the time going to an elite Ph.D. program had seemed like a pipe dream. Over the next few years, though, I received encouragement and guidance. By the time I completed an internship at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors last year, I was certain that a career in economics would be the best way to for me to have a positive impact on the world.
This summer has been a welcome respite, but I look forward to the fall with excitement. I am elated to study economics right now, at a time when computational models are becoming a cornerstone, and ideas such as imperfect information and heterogeneous agents are introducing new levels of realism into our understanding. When political pressures are at a boil, sound economic reasoning is pertinent more than ever, and I look forward to contributing to the policy work required to address modern issues.
The College of Arts