High School Counselors and Economics at UCSB

The UCSB Economics Department hosted over a dozen high school counselors from the Santa Barbara Unified School District on April 25th, with a goal of reaching out to better inform high school students about the benefits of majoring in economics. The meeting was organized by professors Dick Startz, Kelly Bedard, and Doug Steigerwald with big assists from UCSB Admissions led by Cuca Acosta and econ staff member Sarah Feldhaus. Rebecca Bucher made the arrangements at SB Unified.

The program consisted of introductory material presented by Dick Startz, a discussion of teaching and research areas in economics led by Kelly Bedard, a panel (department undergraduate advising director Lauren Mart, Professor John Hartman, and Admissions Executive Director Cuca Acosta) about entry into the department and admission to the university. Professor Ignacio Esponda then led the counselors in a participatory game illustrating the Tragedy of the Commons. Perhaps unsurprisingly, high school counselors are more public-spirited than are many other groups.

The meeting concluded with a lively discussion over lunch.