Clark Days: Dawn found the joy in math after taking a calculus course in her first year, then another. Her dual major in math and economics helped her secure an internship last summer with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, where she worked with economists on projects involving a broad range of topics, from worldwide auto production to personal-spending patterns in different areas of the United States. Chinagorom-Abiakalam credits the Economics Department with exposing her to a variety of research methods and topics, and it was at the suggestion of David Cuberes, professor of economics, that she did a fellowship in 2022 at the University of Chicago’s Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics.
Post-Commencement Plans: Dawn has accepted a position as a research associate at the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis, where she will be assisting economists on policy and academic projects. “I will be involved in designing models, analyzing data, and assisting with authoring research papers,” she says. “So lots of coding and lots of math!”
Reflection: “I have been really fortunate to have professors and advisors who have taken a keen interest in me and who have been relentless in helping me pursue my future endeavors. That level of support is something I truly treasure and will always remember about being a Clark student.”