The AP Economics class visited the Economics Department at University of Maryland College Park on Tues., Nov. 27. There, students met with Dr. Melissa Kearney, the Neil Moskowitz Professor of Economics, and Dr. Jessica Goldberg, Associate Professor of Economics. The professors were extremely generous with their time and spent nearly two hours with the group, discussing what led them to study economics, their research and teaching, and the unique challenges they've faced and help they've received as women building their academic careers.
Both professors took off between their undergraduate and graduate studies to work in both economics and other policy endeavors. Dr. Goldberg has worked extensively outside of the United States, particularly in Malawi. Her economic analysis of development policies has helped Malawian officials evaluate and target programs to increase productivity for lower-income farmers.
Dr. Kearney described her work analyzing the relationship of family structure and the educational levels of mothers in facilitating the academic success of children. She also recounted the challenges and support she experienced early in her career, particularly when starting her family. She explained how she found herself in a male-dominated environment that offered no maternity leave when she was having her first child. However, a supportive senior official at that job donated his accumulated leave time, which allowed her to take time off for her baby. Afterwards, while at the University of Maryland, she also coped with policies that weren't supportive of women who chose to work and have families at the same time. Following her own version of Find a Way or Make One and her commitment to helping other women following along afterward, Dr. Kearney worked with the department to institute the most supportive maternity leave policy on campus after she had her last child.
The professors answered many questions from the class about life at university and, especially, about courses that the professors teach and courses they would recommend. Both professors urged students to continue taking mathematics courses. They explained how much their technical expertise helped them in their studies and, later, enabled them to conduct sophisticated research. They also emphasized how important a study and peer group can be for academic and emotional support.
After the professors concluded their talk, the Upper School students had lunch with one of the department's advanced undergraduate students, who shared details of her college journey, upcoming internship at The Brookings Institution, and college academic and social life.
