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Name: Max Beard ’22
Hometown: Palo Alto, California
Major: Economics
Minor: Psychology (research emphasis)
OWU Connection Experience: Research assistant internship at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business
Beard spent the summer interning at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. His work included finding, summarizing, and analyzing research to incorporate into a literature review of e-payment technologies in developing countries.
“My interest and experience in global economics tied in perfectly with this role. The previous summer (2019), I spent two months in Mexico working for a nonprofit organization called Human Connections. Through this program, I was able to explore how small businesses function abroad and learned more about equitable payment structures for the organization’s partners.
“My research at Stanford University continued within this subset of economics, as I explored key components for technology adoption among Mexican small businesses. Additionally, I was able to create survey instruments to gauge the financial effects of COVID-19 on Mexican small businesses, as well as explore key components of e-commerce adoption among these business owners.”
“I most enjoyed working with my supervisor on the new tasks she would give me each week. She is so knowledgeable about this field of economics and I was able to learn so much from our interactions.”
“I was able to grow a lot through this internship opportunity. Although I knew I was interested in conducting economic research, this experience continued to confirm this passion.
“Without hands-on research opportunities like this, it is hard to know whether the theoretical concepts learned in class are actually academic interests. While I do not know whether I want to work in academia after graduation, this internship allowed me to ponder this question with a greater understanding of what that path would entail.”
“I knew I wanted to attend a small liberal arts university. Ohio Wesleyan provided that opportunity at a reasonable price, while offering the ability to interact with professors in small classes and in more personal ways than a larger school could provide.
“Additionally, the lure of the Economics Management Fellows program and the chance to be a part of the prestigious Coach Paul Reid’s varsity wrestling team made OWU the obvious choice.”
“Although I am unsure of what I will be doing, I anticipate I will be gaining work experience right after college. Likely, I will eventually return to school to receive graduate degree(s) in the field of economics.”