The Saint Mary’s College Economics Club is not a new addition to the community, but one that is being revived for 2022.
Co-presidents and Saint Mary's juniors Nicole Drummond and Nikki Murphy hope to rebuild the club to what it once was before the pandemic.
Nicole Drummond is a double major in finance and economics with a double minor in math and computer science. Drummond described how she got involved with the club this year. “Professor Ari reached out to me and was like, ‘Hey [do] you want to start this back up again, [to] get more girls interested in the major?’”
Professor Ari Farshbaf is an assistant professor of economics at Saint Mary’s and acts as the Econ club’s advisor.
Drummond went on to say that the club is not only for econ majors and is open to everyone.
“Some of my nursing friends are being very supportive in joining … It’s definitely open to everyone,” Drummond said. “Even on the board, I think I’m the only econ major actually. There are some econ minors or concentrations but overall people are global studies, gender and women’s studies or business majors.”
The Econ club has already had one event where they collaborated with the Saint Mary’s Investment Club. The event consisted of Farshbaf sharing his knowledge. He explained cryptocurrency and its relevance to the economy and the market.
Drummond mentioned that the club intends to team up with other tri-campus groups later in the semester.
“We are looking at doing an event with the Notre Dame Econ Club … getting involved and building the communities together and sharing knowledge between the clubs.”
Drummond stated her hopes for the club and the goals that they are aiming to accomplish in the future.
“We hope that they [club members] have a better overall understanding of what economics is and how it applies to everyday life,” Drummond said. “Also we’re just looking to build a community of girls that come together and share knowledge and share like different perspectives on things.”
The Econ Club’s future plans include game nights and movie nights in the hope that it will attract new members. The hope is also for the current members to bond and build the community that Drummond hopes to build within the club. Drummond hopes to extend this community to other like-minded clubs.
Drummond also spoke of the mentor program in the club.
“So it’s kind of like introducing and sharing a little bit about what kind of class options there are, what the electives are, [and] kind of helping girls figure out what their major or minor is … and if they want help with their four-year plan or whatever.”
Information regarding the Econ club can be found on posters posted around Saint Mary’s campus or can be found by emailing the club’s official email at econclub@saintmarys.edu. Students can also get more information by contacting either co-president Nicole Drummond at ndrummond01@saintmarys.edu or Nikki Murphy at nmurphy01@saintmarys.edu.
