Discovering Careers and Diversity in Economics Through Inter-institutional Student Club Collaborative
Abstract
Born from the initiative of the Economics Club of Atlanta (ECA) to connect with local studentorganizations during the time of pandemic-driven uncertainty and isolation, the Economics
Collaborative in the Atlanta-area Academic Institutions (ECoAAAI) brings together student
leaders, faculty advisors and administrators, as well as economics professionals to brainstorm,
build support networks, and shed light on the diverse landscape of careers open to economics
majors. This initiative has also provided students with the tools and information to tackle
standard milestones students face while progressing on their career paths, both in the private
and public sectors. Building such connections and positive spillovers is critically important for
URM and first-gen students. First, the paper outlines our group’s mission that can be broadly
termed as “Discovering Economics” with a focus on careers and internship opportunities open to
undergraduate economics majors, creating the initiative through organizing a collaborative effort
among Atlanta area colleges and Universities and our structure and member institutions.
Second, we describe the topics and questions raised, which organically lead the thematic
evolution of our events. Lastly, we share our leaders’ group experiences as well as student
feedback that emphasizes the importance of inter-institutional and extra-curricular initiatives for
students and professionals in economics and economics-related fields to stay connected and
supported. The ECoAAAI has five participating institutions and it has presented six
events hosted by institutions for both in-person and virtual audiences.