Amy Tsai

B.S. in Economics and Statistics
Minor in Business Administration

FILL NEEDED.

Why are you studying economics?

Economics has the perfect balance of quantitative and qualitative analysis that is applicable to the real world. There are so many diverse topics that Economics covers, and you develop valuable insight into how the world works after working with datasets and constructing theoretical models.

Do you have a favorite economics course? If so, which one and why?

My favorite course was Within the Firm: Managing Through Incentives. It's heavily case-driven, so you get to see how the models derived in class apply in real life scenarios. The class discussions really prompt you to think harder about the feasibility of solutions being proposed, and overall help to develop a better sense of problem solving. Professor Kushnir is also amazing at teaching this course and always has interesting lessons planned.

Describe your typical weekday morning

I'm not a morning person and luckily most of my classes start at noon or later. Honestly, I try to wake up early but it usually ends up being around 10:30am, so I just skip breakfast and eat a small snack instead. It takes 15 minutes to walk from my apartment to campus, so I always make sure I'm out the door 20 minutes before class.

Describe your typical weekday afternoon

It depends on my schedule. Some days I have class from 12pm - 4:30pm so if I have a break in between classes, I work at one of the purple chairs in Tepper or go on a quick Fuku Tea run with some friends. Other days, my first class starts at 6:30pm so I work at the Carnegie Library or a cafe in Shadyside for a few hours. I have club meetings, office hours, and staff meetings to attend in the earlier part of the week, so Fridays are my most relaxed days.

Describe your typical weekday evening

I'm usually done with classes by 4:30pm so if I have a lot of work, I stay in Tepper after class to find a place to study. If I'm lucky, the conference rooms on the 4th and 5th floors are free, otherwise I prefer working at the tables by the giant windows for some natural sunlight! Most of my friends also study in Tepper, so we usually bus down to Oakland (or walk if it's nice out) to grab some dinner. I try not to work super late on campus, so starting at 10pm I"m probably working at home.

Describe your typical weekend

I like to work off campus on the weekends just so I'm not spending too much time in the same spot every day ; most of the time I'm studying or grading homework in the Carnegie Library after grabbing some Las Palmas and Fuku Tea. If I have more free time, I like to go to new restaurants in different neighborhoods, watch a movie at The Manor, or take a nice walk around Oakland. At night, I have rehearsals for Dancers' Symposium.