Economics Management Fellowship

Tommy Minkler

Tommy Minkler is freshman from Oakton, Virginia, ranked one of the best 100 small cities by CNN Money in 2008. He came to Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) with great enthusiasm for economics after graduated from The Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland. So far, OWU life has been really exciting for him with lots of activities where he can truly sit back and get to know everyone. “I love the diversity, warmhearted environment and so far, OWU has met all my expectations”, he added.

His father graduated from OWU in 1979, as well as his mother in 1982. Carrying on his parent’s legacy, Tommy intends to make his best contributions to the University. Aside from being a member of the Economics Management Fellowship (EMF) program, he also plays lacrosse at OWU. His team has been practicing since the first day of school and he is looking forward to his first game against Ohio State on October 15^th. Talking about lacrosse, he believes playing lacrosse for the University will be a whole new experience since, “it’s not only about playing for fun, but also about winning a national championship.”

Outside of the classroom, Tommy is a well-rounded person who cares for the community around him. In his free time, he is also a volunteer at an Autism Camp and he has been doing this for his entire High school life. Last summer, prior coming to OWU, he was an intern at Capital Hill in Oklahoma and it was a priceless experience for him.

Fun fact: If he was an immortal for a day, he would go sky diving

   

Emily Keiser

Booklover. Modest. Wise. Those may be first impressions that you have when first talking to one of the new gems of the OWU community. Emily Keiser is from Waterford, Pennsylvania. She spends her free time reading, and collecting old and abused books. She would like to try to restore old and abused books to a fair state, and then either donate them or add interesting ones to her own collections, with the dream of opening her own library one day.

Her favorite books are foreign languages and international travel. Coming to OWU, Emily is a triple major in Spanish, French and International Business. She hopes OWU will assist her in fostering her dream to one day become a business interpreter and facilitate agreements between companies. She has been developing her passion for language since very young age when she first learnt how to read and write using Egyptian Hieroglyphs. However, it was not until she had attended a linguistic conference her Junior year in high school that she found out how much she enjoyed combining language and business.

Apart from classes, she enjoys listening to music and dancing. She said that is how she gets away from all the stress in her life and that it would set her mind free. Emily is going to be a part of Hedda Gabbler show and she cannot wait to see how it will turn out. She is really excited to be a part of the EMF program and hopes to gain a lot of new knowledge about the world and how it operates. Welcome to OWU, Emily!

Fun fact: Apart from Spanish and French, she also picks up German and Chinese.

Is Ben Bernanke a cool boss?

Is Ben Bernanke a cool boss? Well if you asked Shannon Delaney, Senior Economics Management and Spanish double major, and Adithya Manohar, Senior Astrophysics and Creative Writing double major, that question, they would say, “yes.”

Shannon and Adithya interned with the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank Board of Governors in Washington D.C. this summer. In their position, research assistant in the Consumer and Community Affairs division, they assisted the mobile banking team by researching literature regarding mobile banking, attended conference calls and meetings and worked with senior community affairs analysts regarding the REO and vacant property situation.

After that,they worked on a project with another intern from the Cleveland Federal Reserve on the best and promising practices of services on the continuum of REO maintenance and disposition. Shannon and Adithya did a lot of research about the different foreclosure programs out there and, after compiling that information, interviewed people from the Enterprise Community Partners, NeighborWorks and National Community Stabilization Trust to get a sense of what best practices are available and if any of them are working.

“Working with the Federal Reserve this summer was a great experience. We learned a lot about the Fed by attending informational meetings designed for interns, about the different divisions of the Fed. This experience also gave us the opportunity to speak to individuals who are a part of organizations that are trying to help the housing crisis. We also learned a lot about the current economy and exactly how significant the housing crisis is,” said Delaney.

          Located right here on Sandusky St. is Wealth Management firm called Family Financial. This is where Austin Bucceri, Senior Economics Management major, worked over the summer. There are currently two financial advisors, partners Bill Hall and Greg Ritter, together they oversee $2,000,000 in assets under management. 

“Family Financial specialises in Wealth Management, this means they primarily deal with managed accounts (mutual funds) and get their client’s portfolio’s properly diversified via equities and bonds within the said mutual funds—this is much less risky and appropriate for their specific target clients,” says Bucceri. Austin spent two months with Family Financial and learned everything there is to know regarding the wealth management business. Amongst a slue of other formal “tricks of the trade” learned, one of the main intangible lessons Austin learned was that in this business you are managing people, not portfolios. You are the clients “money doctor,” as to say every time they have a questions regarding their financial health, or even the slightest problem, they will come to you and expect you to help them in whatever ways you can. No matter the size of the problem, you always take the time necessary to solve their inquiries and leave them with peace of mind.

In his position, E-Commerce Executive, Austin created the firm’s website, FamilyFinancialOhio.com, which is now a fully functioning, web-accessible, website. On top of the creation of this website, Austin also helped manage portfolios alongside Bill and Greg. Through this, he was able to learn how they were properly diversifying each portfolio, and closely study their managing techniques. 

On top of finishing up his Economics Management major, Austin is currently also interning four days a week with State Farm and is, “very excited to see what he will learn form the experience as well.”

Bigelow-Reed Kick-Off Party

                The Bigelow-Reed House had its inaugural community event this past Sunday afternoon, August 28. “The welcoming party was the first event of many of the new Bigelow-Reed House,” said Shane Wepprich ’12. “We brought together house members, professors, and alumni who all support this new community to give students the opportunity to excel their passion for business, economics, and entrepreneurial leadership.” 

Residents of the house, economics department faculty, staff members, and a few alumni from the advisory board including Evan Corns ‘59, Mark Shipps ’70, David St. Pierre ‘90, and Tim Junglas ‘06 all gathered to celebrate the start of the academic year. Fun was had by all from the “straw game” to promote teamwork and ingenuity to the raffling off of a private pizza party in Meek. 

“I thought it was great because everyone in the house was able to meet and learn a little bit more about each other,” said Logan Osborne ’13. 

                Guests mingled over lunch in enthusiastic anticipation of future programming for the house which will include exclusive lectures, house dinners, and career development training. Students were excited to learn that several of our alums will be temporary residents of the house throughout the year. 

                “The Bigelow-Reed Kick-off encapsulated all of the advantages of the Bigelow-Reed House: students met with alumni, worked together to create community, and learned more about the economics family at Ohio Wesleyan,” said Rebekah Smith ’12. “The sense of camaraderie was palpable, and all the students left feeling welcomed into their new home.”

                With a successful first event of the semester, the student programming board is anxious to put into action the full vision they have created for the house using the suggestions of student, faculty, and alumni.

A Message from the Co-Directors

 

Welcome to the April issue of the Woltemade Center's electronic newsletter. In this issue, we are pleased to report on an exciting new course on Sustainability and Eco tourism. During mid-semester break, students traveled to Costa Rica with Dr. Andrew Meyer and Dr. Alice Simon to study these topics. It was a never-to-be-forgotten experience.

You’ll also find information on a number of Center lectures, including a guest lecture by an OWU alumnus, and an update on students’ summer plans. At the end of every academic year, the economics department faculty have the pleasant task of selecting students to receive a number of special awards, grants and scholarships. These activities will continue through  the end of the semester: so far we are very pleased to announce the five sophomores who have just been selected to receive a 2011 Corns Entrepreneurial Scholarship for their last two years at OWU. We congratulate A. J. Alonzo, Laura Finkler, Trung Duc Pham, Eric Pramshufer and Brittany Vickers.

This will be our last newsletter for the 2010 – 2011 academic year. We hope our articles this year have given you a sense of the wide range of activities that we are involved with and some insights about our students, alumni, and professors who are involved with the economics department and the Woltemade Center. Have a great summer. We look forward to bringing you exciting news and features in the future. We welcome your comments and suggestions, so please keep in touch.

A Request to the Ohio Wesleyan Alumni from John and Alice 

We welcome your support and involvement with the Center.  A number of alumni have already offered to provide summer internship opportunities, hire graduating majors, provide career advice to students, present guest lectures or have simply made financial gifts to the Center. We also have many alumni who serve on our Alumni Advisory Board who help us plan and execute the Center’s programs, committing both their time and substantial financial support. We sincerely thank all of our alumni who have been or are currently involved. We also are in need of additional support. Please contact either John (jdboos@owu.edu) or Alice (aesimon@owu.edu) for further information.

David C. Bupp, former C.E.O of Neoprobe, discusses the big picture with students

On March 17, the recently retired C.E.O of Neoprobe Corporation, David C. Bupp ’71, visited three economics classes to share his expertise in entrepreneurship and corporate strategy. Neoprobe Corporation produces radiopharmaceuticals that allow surgeons to identify the development and growth of cancer cells during surgery. Bupp’s visit provided insight not only into the specific challenges of the pharmaceutical industry, but also into the broader challenges of corporate leadership that many students aspire to meet.

While his emphasis depended on his audience—he spoke to the Entrepreneurship class, the Economics Management Fellows Seminar and Corporate Strategy course. Bupp focused on his role at Neoprobe and on the company’s progress. One of the distinct features of the pharmaceutical industry is the extended research and development phase and the importance of FDA approval.

To help finance the development of two new drugs, Lymphoseek and RIGScan, Neoprobe relies on the revenues from their portable Gamma Detection System, which helps identify tumors marked by a specific antigen. The necessary balance between long-term development and immediate survival resonated with many students. Amber Callen-Ward, a freshman from Holley, New York, commented on Mr. Bupp’s “perseverance and faith in his company. Despite the pressures of being president and C.E.O., he was not intimidated to take risks and to commit to the substantive growth of his company instead of quick profits.”

Neoprobe’s exclusive partnership with Cardinal Health illustrates this commitment. Although Lymphoseek has not reached the market yet, Cardinal Health has already agreed to distribute, market, and promote the product. In light of all his accomplishments at Neoprobe, including re-registering Neoprobe on the public exchange, his path to his current position at the company was of particular interest to some students.

Bupp joined the company as C.F.O., coming from a background in investment banking, and eventually became president. Stephanie Martineau, a freshman from Woonsocket, Rhode Island, said that she was impressed by how he was “prepared to seize an opportunity in a new field in which he had limited experience.”

His indirect path to leading a corporation gave a refreshing reminder of the versatility of all the degrees in this department and the many possibilities they can create. 

Students Travel to Costa Rica to Study Ecotourism

 

During Spring Break, Economics Assistant Professor Andrew Meyer, along with Professor Alice Simon, took 11 students to Costa Rica to study ecotourism as part of the Sustainability, Ecotourism, and Eco-Certification travel-learning course. Students spent nine days traveling through Monteverde, Playa Grande, and Playa Samara, getting a firsthand look at successful ecotourism destinations and contrasting them with experiences in more environmentally destructive destinations within Costa Rica. During the trip, students also had the opportunity to hike, zip-line, snorkel, and learn about the local wildlife of the regions.

“I had been to Costa Rica several times previously so I was familiar with the country and its conservation efforts,” said Dr. Meyer. “I teach environmental economics, but there are many topics such as ecotourism and eco-certification that we don't have time to cover in the environmental econ class. This was an opportunity to cover these topics with students from a broad spectrum of majors and interests and see the concepts in practices with a trip to Costa Rica.”

To prepare for the trip, students learned about the current and past political, environmental, social, and economic issues of Costa Rica. This history, combined with what students learned about general eco-tourism in class through discussion and readings gave them a comprehensive background for the trip. Dr. Meyer hoped that these on-the-ground experiences with eco-tourism in Costa Rica would help students “formulate what they think the important factors are in determining whether an ecotourism project succeeds or fails, both environmentally and economically.”

“I decided to take this class because I wanted to learn more about ecotourism,” said Alex McCarty, a junior economics management major. “I was also interested in the economic side of ecotourism and how much it could help a country’s economy.”