Janet Yellen (behind podium), former Federal Reserve chair, presents at the American Economic Association conference in January 2020. The event was attended by a number of Cal State Fullerton students.

Undergraduate and graduate students from Cal State Fullerton’s Mihaylo College of Business and Economics were among the attendees at the American Economic Association conference in San Diego in January.

The students attended panel discussions covering economic findings on topics such as religion, gender, health, education, crime, finance, trade and game theory.

The opportunity to hear from and network with world-class economists was a powerful avenue for exposing Mihaylo College economics students to leaders in the field.

Catarina Meneses at the American Economic Association conference

“For most of us, it was the first time we were exposed to certain subfields of economics, which sparked a curiosity to explore more,” says Catarina Meneses ’19, ’21, an economics master’s student who attended the conference. She is also a past president of the CSUF Economics Association. “For those already interested in continuing into Ph.D. programs, these panels provided inspiration for research topics we hadn’t thought of before.”

Among the networking opportunities was the Laureate Luncheon, in which students connected with experts, including winners of the 2018 Nobel Prize in economics and former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen and 2001 Nobel Prize laureate George Akerlof.

The conference hosted a Cal State Fullerton Economics Department and Woods Center reception, providing an opportunity for Titans to connect with their classmates, faculty members and alumni.

“The reception provided new mentorship opportunities and an open discussion about curriculum and possible improvements to future students’ experiences,” says Meneses.

For More on Economics

Cal State Fullerton’s Department of Economics provides both undergraduate and graduate coursework in the field, which is one of the highest paid majors today. Read more of our articles about the department’s research, education and impact.