Nikki Nair
Hometown: Menomonee Falls, WI
Year in School: Senior
Interests/Hobbies:
Reading (pretty much anything), Writing (on Substack)
Involvements/Employment/Activities:
Tour Guide Supervisor and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Specialist at Campus and Visitor Relations; Wisconsin Vira (Indian classical dance team); Undergraduate Student Representative on the Department of Economics DEI Committee
Where is your favorite place on campus and why?
I love the Multicultural Student Center in the Red Gym. It’s a great space to hang out or do some homework, and they’re always hosting fun events. For coffee and general atmosphere, it’s pretty hard to beat Aldo’s in the Discovery building. Their punch card is my weakness.
What has been your favorite Econ course?
I really enjoyed ECON 623: Population Economics with Professor Fernanda Rojas-Ampuero because it applied the microeconomic theory we’ve spent so much time learning to real-world problems. This course was much more qualitative than my earlier economics courses, and I appreciated the opportunity to write my first economic research paper. It was the perfect class to complete my economics major.
If you have any other majors or certificates in addition to Econ, how did you decide to add Econ or add the other major/certificate?
I had chosen to add the math emphasis and had already taken a few coding classes, so adding data science as a second major was a no-brainer. Economics and data science is the most popular double major among economics students for a reason; it gives students the chance to explore and build two marketable skill sets. Employers love to see it!
How do you manage your course load?
I try to be diligent both about the tasks I need to get done every day and the breaks I take throughout the day/week. It’s always easier to handle more work if you have something to look forward to, so I like to plan something fun for the weekends (at the very least, to force myself to take a break). All the (stupid) healthy behaviors also help: getting sunlight and fresh air, moving your body at least a little, eating food that makes you feel nourished, drinking enough water, sleeping a solid 7-8 hours per night, etc.
Where did you intern/research, and did you have a good experience? Why or why not?
I’ve interned at Northwestern Mutual (a Fortune 500 life financial services company) and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (the central bank of the US that controls monetary policy). These experiences were similar (required coding and independent work) and different (private vs. public sector), but both were valuable in developing my skill set. I’ve also done research in agricultural economics, political science, and sociology. Overall, I’ve learned that I’m interested in collaborative, social science research.
What advice do you have for students seeking an internship/research experience?
Be open to unexpected experiences! There’s so much pressure to know what you want to do right away, but college is a fantastic time to experiment with different interests and career paths. Seek out opportunities that genuinely interest you, and if you’re not sure what does, then say yes to whatever you can get your hands on. It might not work out on the timeline you want it to, but it will work out.
Do you know what you want to do after graduation? If yes, what? If not, what advice would you give to another student who may not know either?
I’m not sure, to be honest. I’d like to go to grad school at some point, and I want to work a bit before I do that, but everything else is pretty much up in the air. The best advice I can give is advice I received a few summers ago: “there is no such thing as a career path. The best thing to think about is the next interesting opportunity.”