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Economics and Business Fall Newsletter | 2015
From the editor:
To our current students—welcome back to campus! It seems we’ve only begun the year and already the leaves are changing and the first mid-term exams are underway. When you take a break from your studies, I hope this newsletter helps you learn more about the people in our department and the activities we offer.
To our alumni and other readers from afar—here’s a snapshot I took last week to show you what you’re missing in Wenham, other than mid-term exams !
For students in our department who are interested in accounting, I wanted to share an interesting link: a worksheet that shows how to earn enough credit hours during your four years at Gordon to sit for the CPA exam! Talk to your advisor if this sounds like it might be a good fit for you.
And for alumni who would like to find out more about what’s going on around the college, be sure to check out the Bell, Gordon’s new online source for news and updates on college activities and people.
It is a busy time for all of us, but I hope you can be energized by this vision of Gordon College: Gordon College is a unique place, characterized by love and excellence. Wherever your journey takes you, we share together in a great hope, and I am so thankful for that!
The rest of this newsletter looks ahead to the academic year and recaps some highlights from the summer. As always, if you have an update or event you’d like to share, or if you know fellow alumni who would like to be added to the mailing list, we’d love to hear from you—please email me at [email protected].
With warm regards,
Prof. Kristen Cooper
Newsletter Editor
Economics and Business Organization Club | by Emily David ’17 For current students from all departments; Alumni volunteers needed.
The Economics and Business Organization exists to help students in professional development and provide opportunities for networking. To teach students a variety of skills and expose them to a variety of business topics and industries, we organize networking trips, sponsor guest speakers, and host professional workshops. Meetings are held bi-weekly Wednesday evenings at 7pm in Ken Olsen Science Center 109—the next one is on December 2. Our leadership team this year is Chan Yoon as President, Emily David as Vice President, Anthony Kim as Head of Logistics, and Nathanael Lee as Head of Marketing.
Every year, the EBO offers two trips for students to travel to Boston, New York City, and/or Washington, D.C. During these trips, students visit Gordon alumni in their workplaces and the alumni provide introductions to their field. This enables students to meet a number of alumni, and explore the atmosphere of the city. The trips also hone students' etiquette skills and add to the toolbox of professional skills they will need in professional settings during their job searches and careers. Applications for our New York Trip will open in just a few weeks.
EBO also hosts a variety of industry leaders and interesting people on campus. At our first EBO meeting this semester, Dr. Kent Seibert shared his experience as a Christian manager working at Fortune 200 companies, and his career path leading to Gordon. In the past, we have invited entrepreneurs, marketers, demographers, and Chartered Financial AnalystsTM individuals to present at EBO. We are constantly looking to expand our base of guest speakers through alumni and other Gordon connections, to expose students to a broad range of industries, as well as teach them valuable skills about the working world.
The final component of EBO is professional skill development workshops. For example, earlier in October the leadership team of EBO held a Microsoft Outlook workshop on the importance of prompt follow-ups, networking tips and setting up Microsoft Outlook. Since then, we have received great feedback from students about the benefit Outlook has had on their personal organization.
We look forward to the rest of an already exciting year of trips, networking and speakers. If you are a student interested in EBO, or an alumnus who would like to connect with us, please contact us at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you!
Gordon College Investment Club | by David Giordano ’17 For current students; Alumni input welcome!
The Gordon College Investment Club (GCIC) is a student-led group with the goal of promoting broader and more in-depth investing knowledge among the student body. The club meets bi-weekly on Wednesday nights from 7-8 in Ken Olsen Science Center 109. So far the club has reviewed and instructed members on investing concepts such as diversification, asset allocation, and capital gains. Recently the club began a stock portfolio simulation game that will run until late April. In the future, the club is looking forward to hearing from an assortment of guest speakers from the financial services industry. The club is open to all who want to learn more about investing, especially students from outside the ECB department. Our next meeting, in which John Truschel will be addressing the club, will take place on October 28.
Any students or alumni who are interested in getting involved should feel free to email [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected].
Happenings: Student Activities
American Enterprise Institute Executive Council at Gordon College | by Cassie Wetzell ’16 Current students from all departments welcome!
The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Executive Council at Gordon College is here to inform and promote the “competition of ideas” on campus by encouraging students to build up a greater knowledge and understanding of public policy issues facing the American public. AEI scholars and other leading thinkers support us to help challenge the way that students think about free enterprise, entrepreneurship, poverty, education and globalization. The 2015-16 Executive Council consists of Cassie Wetzell ’16, Colin Bradley ’16, India Boland ’17, Paul Crookston ’16, Chan-Mi Kim ’16, and David Giordano ’17. A few members of the council and student leaders from around campus also had the privilege to attend the AEI Values & Capitalism Summer Conference last June with Professor of Economics Stephen Smith.
This year we are collaborating with other groups on campus such as EBO and ISI Newman Society to have a few dynamic and thought-provoking events as well as sponsor another keynote guest speaker in the spring (like Peter Greer last year). The topics for these events will range from “Policy 101” information sessions to election viewing parties. Follow us on Facebook to know when and where our events will take place.
If you have any questions about the council or would like to get involved this school year please contact Cassie Wetzell at [email protected].
Sabbatical research on the Sabbath Professor Kent Seibert spent fall semester last year on sabbatical. Sabbaticals afford faculty a break from teaching to focus on scholarly research and writing projects, update their courses, and catch up on reading (and sleep!). The two major projects Prof. Seibert worked on were writing an article with Gordon alumna Julia Marra on what motivates social entrepreneurs and editing a special issue of the Journal of Biblical Integration in Business on the place of Sabbath for contemporary business people. That issue also included an article co-authored by Prof. Seibert and Gordon alumna Rachel Ashley called, “First Things: the Sabbath and the Twenty-first Century Marketplace.”
Research on consumer behavior Prof. Kristen Cooper recently published an article titled “Consumer well-being in a future of accelerating novelty” in the peer-reviewed Journal of Evolutionary Economics. The paper is forthcoming in a special issue of that journal on “The Future of Consumption” and has been made available in advance online here. In this work, Prof. Cooper studies consumer behavior in a theoretical model where innovation accelerates the rate at which novel goods become available to consumers. She finds that the innovation may actually decrease consumer welfare under some realistic conditions: if there are external costs of updating to a newer good, if the consumers are boundedly rational and exhibit present bias, or if consumers’ replacement decisions reflect an arms race for social status. The paper focuses on the apparel market and the rise of “fast fashion” as a case study, but its results have broader implications for future patterns of consumption, if the phenomenon of “fashion” and novelty-seeking continues to expand.
Faculty News
Pictured from left to right: India Boland, Nathanial Lee, Prof. Stephen Smith, Chan-Mi Kim, Paul Crookston, Anna Obert
Hong Kong Summer Study and Internship Program | by Prof. Alice Tsang By the grace of God, Gordon College was provided an opportunity to collaborate with Hang Seng Management College (HSMC), an up-and-coming higher education institution, to develop a summer program that meets students’ needs for cross-cultural and professional development experiences. Following the successful launch of Gordon’s unique business seminar in Hong Kong in 2014, eleven Gordon students participated in this 10-week study/internship program this past summer.
Students arrived in Hong Kong in the second week of June and began their internships the following week. They were placed in various major global firms including the South China Morning Post, JLL and Deloitte Hong Kong. Before they began their internships, Gordon students took a day trip to Macau, which until 1999 was a Portuguese colony and is known as the “Las Vegas of Asia.” Students had a fun time touring this small peninsula of southern China where popular tourist sites include the Ruins of St. Paul Church dating back to the 17th century and recently completed 5-star casino-hotels. Gordon students soon settled into their daily routines of commuting to work from the campus of HSMC to Hong Kong’s business districts through the City’s Mass Transit Railway and buses. Like the 7.2 million people residing in Hong Kong, students also learned to tolerate the incredibly hot and humid summer weather of this sub-tropical city. They planned their daily meals around staples purchased from supermarkets and rice and noodle dishes served at local fast-food restaurants.
I arrived at Hong Kong in mid-July to teach two courses (Financial Management and Investment Analysis) at HSMC. With classes starting, the busy schedule of our students became even more intense since they also had to attend a 3-hour class three evenings a week after putting in a full day’s work. I applaud them for their tremendous efforts to stay on top of their studies while continuing to perform well on their internships. Juggling both really tested their time management skills and ability to focus and prioritize. They delivered on both.
Thankfully, the program also provided a lot of fun activities to the participants. We were happy to attend a UNESCO-sponsored Symposium on Sustainability and Bamboo and HSMC’s President Forum featuring Gordon President D. Michael Lindsay, and visit Bloomberg’s office in the Central District. The group went to a local church in the Tsim Sha Tsui area to worship on Sundays, which was followed by delectable dim-sum lunches or elaborate buffets at nearby hotels. President Lindsay and EVP Dan Tymann visited Hong Kong
and enjoyed buffet dinners and great conversations with the students. Students took advantage of any down time to explore the city and outlying islands. Many have made friends with students from other universities.
After an exhausting 10 weeks, students brought home a lot of fond, life-long memories from Hong Kong. They learned from supervisors and colleagues who hailed from various continents, worked and played sports with peers from universities all over the world, sampled cuisines that were both exotic and exquisite. They became more confident, more mature and independent. Most of all, they have bonded so well with their group members that many wondered if they had been matched up by design. For that we have our Lord to thank!
Theology and Economics—Annual John Mason Lecture On October 6, Dr. Kenneth Elzinga delivered the second annual John Mason Lecture to a full house in the MacDonald Auditorium. The John Mason Lecture honors the life and legacy of Professor Mason, who taught economics at Gordon College from 1968 until his retirement in 2007. Dr. Elzinga is the Robert C. Taylor Chair in Economics at the University of Virginia and one of the world’s leading experts on antitrust issues. He was also a lifelong friend of John Mason. In his talk, titled “Economics and Theology in Conversation,” Dr. Elzinga reflected from a Christian perspective on the opportunities for market exchange to make people better off—the phenomenon which Adam Smith described as the “invisible hand” that is sometimes still not fully appreciated.
Happenings: Recap
Internship Corner
Many students in our department completed internships over the summer, both paid and for-credit. Here are some of their stories, including many highlights from the Hong Kong Summer Study and Internship Program.
Charlie Mitchell ’16 I had the privilege of interning at Jones Lang Lasalle in Hong Kong this summer. JLL is one of the largest professional services and real estate investment management companies in the world. I worked for JLL’s Integrated Facilities Management department, one of the firm’s multiple business segments. In addition to managing all aspects of a building such as technical engineering and general upkeep, IFM provides modern upgrading, special event planning, landscaping, and catering among other services. My specific team was part of the joint global account that JLL has with HSBC, managing the bank’s multiple apartment complexes on Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak. I worked with the facilities managers and officers in providing safe, energy efficient, and comfortable living quarters for the tenants.
Working in heart of Hong Kong was a great experience. At JLL, I believe I was able to improve my communication and professionalism, as well as my technical skills. I also became much more informed about the real estate market in Hong Kong and how business operates in one of the world’s major cities. Along with all of that, I was able to experience a new culture, great food, and fast-paced city life with some amazing people.
Eric Walker ’16 This summer I had the privilege of spending my time interning with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in Hong Kong through Gordon’s Hong Kong Summer Finance Program. During my time in Hong Kong I was able to stretch my boundaries, learn from an amazing company and explore an unbelievable city. I interned in the global financial services industry sector of Deloitte under the global head of client programs.
My main responsibility was to assist in the development and organization of learning programs for top performers in Deloitte financial services. This responsibility required the creation and maintenance of events pages, communications with participants, information organization and the development of a networking night for the events.
My role with Deloitte allowed me to hone my skills and knowledge gained from the classroom, while also expanding my knowledge in various areas—data organization, Excel, PowerPoint, corporate communications, event planning and research. Being able to participate in countless meetings, and truly be a part of a team effort, gave a great sense of involvement and accomplishment. I was able to grow tremendously through the work I was given; however, the most influential aspect of my summer internship was the relationships I made and the comfort with the corporate culture that I gained. All of my supervisors and co-workers were extremely welcoming and open to sharing their experiences, giving advice and discussing my plans for the future. I was able to schedule multiple meetings with supervisors and spend time with them outside of the workplace, where we were able to talk in a less formal environment.
My time working with Deloitte and living in Hong Kong this summer was an invaluable experience—an incredible learning experience that has better prepared me for tackling the workplace after graduation.
Dorothy Chung ’18 As a participant of the 2015 Hong Kong Summer Internship Program, I had the privilege to intern at the South China Morning Post, the Hong Kong-based premier English-language newspaper in Asia. I was a strategic investments intern so I worked closely with their strategic investments team and their recruitment and business department. This internship was very challenging but nonetheless rewarding. My colleagues and supervisor actively taught me new things every day, and they created such a positive working environment for me. I learned multiple software platorms, inclucing Google Analytics and Bloomberg Professional, conducted pertinent research and managed some of my own projects. It was eye-opening to see how a corporation operates.
Internship Corner
Aaron Smith ’16
This summer, I was one of a handful of students from Gordon that were able to live and work in Hong Kong for two and a half months. We were all placed at a variety of firms for internships and, in light of my interest in real estate, I worked at JLL (Jones Lang Lasalle Ltd.) in their Integrated Facilities Management department. My specific position was Solutions Development Intern, which meant I worked with a small team to provide clients with a detailed strategy of facilities management that fit their specific, and often complicated, needs. It was a natural fit for someone with the unlikely skillset combination of problem solving and business promotion. The job struck a perfect balance of freedom in certain projects and guidance in others. Whether it was receiving oversight in helping with bidding and various case studies, to the liberty in giving a culminating presentation on my suggested
improvements of the department to executives, the job seemed to have it all. It was truly an invaluable experience to work with such professional senior executives at one of the most prominent global real estate service providers. In addition to receiving great business experience, the cultural exposure was entirely unique. My office was as diverse as it comes, and it seemed that only a city like Hong Kong could attract such an international workforce. To sum up my experience working for JLL Hong Kong, I would say that I appreciated the corporate and cultural exposures, learning relevant skills, but most evidently meeting so many incredible professionals.
Jerry Williams ’18 This past summer I had the opportunity to do a marketing internship at Schuylkill Valley Sports in Pennsylvania. Marketing is not necessarily something I want to pursue as a career, but it was still a great opportunity and I learned a lot. I learned about how different departments in a firm work together to increase revenue, and I believe this will be the biggest takeaway as I try to pursue a career in another area of business one day. My daily tasks consisted of working with one other intern and helping the Marketing Director with different projects, including posts on social media, tracking digital marketing, and creating spreadsheets for analytics. The tracking of digital marketing and creating spreadsheets consisted mainly of going into the company’s software and checking which of the company’s stores were scanning the sales barcodes at the cash register. One of the most
enjoyable social media projects I worked on was making a video highlighting one of the new Cross-Fit shoes the company had just begun stocking. My various projects and tasks really helped me understand the marketing side of a company and its purpose. I completed several projects outside of the marketing department as well, including assisting the E-Commerce department with different tasks in the launching of their new website and helping out in the company warehouse. Overall, my internship was a great experience, and I believe the knowledge I gained about how companies operate will help me a lot as I pursue a career in the business world.
Alumni, if you aware of internship opportunities at your business or organization, please contact Stacey Phelps, the Internship Coordinator who joined the Career Services team last year. Your help in helping our students find their first internship or job opportunity is invaluable and much appreciated!
Alumni Highlights
LIVES WORTH LEADING®
255 Grapevine Road, Wenham MA 01984-1899 www.gordon.edu/academics/economics
Jessica Rabe ’13 Jessica Rabe is currently Assistant Vice President at Convergex Group, a global brokerage company based in New York. She works on the market strategy team with the firm’s Chief Market Strategist. They publish the Convergex Morning Briefing, a daily report on the economy and capital markets. Jessica is co-author of "Alts Democratized: A Practical Guide to Alternative Mutual Funds and ETFs for Financial Advisors," published by Wiley Finance in December 2014. She started her career as a research analyst at a Registered Investment Advisor in New Jersey, where she published articles and contract research on liquid alternatives. Jessica has also been published by the World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report, the American
Enterprise Institute’s Values & Capitalism blog, the Center for Public Justice’s Shared Justice blog, Asset International's Strategic Insight Alternatives Quarterly, and Seeking Alpha.
Jessica graduated from Gordon in December 2013 with a major in economics. She completed a number of accounting and finance courses to hone her financial research skills. She also participated in the Jerusalem and Athens Forum, Gordon’s great books honors program. She started the Global Perspectives column on foreign affairs in The Tartan, Gordon College’s newspaper, and was a member of the Economics and Business Club. Gordon also gave Jessica the opportunity to complete a summer internship at EMC’s Big Data Research and Development Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Joshua Alvera ’13 After graduating in 2013, Joshua Alvera, B.A. in finance and accounting, completed his M.B.A., specializing in financial reporting and controls, at Boston College in The Carroll School of Management, class of 2015. During his time there, he and his team won the prestigious Dianne Weiss Consulting Competition having consulted for Zipcar and made a valuable contribution to their business. Joshua has completed his CPA exams and has passed the Level I CFATM exam, and is currently preparing for the Level II exam. Joshua currently resides at home in Bermuda with his wife and two children, where he works as an experienced associate for PwC Bermuda in assurance, auditing asset management firms.
Trip Nine ’10 Since 2010, Trip has worked as an executive account manager at GovConnection, for the state government and education space. His main task is to help plan and deploy IT needs to universities, school districts and state governments in certain regions of the country. He even has Gordon College as one of his accounts and helps the College with IT needs from time to time.
Trip also serves on the board of directors of a local nonprofit ministry, Heart for God Ministries (www.heartforgod.net). HFG is an evangelistic outreach ministry with one goal: to share the gospel with people everywhere. They seek to love people in Jesus’ name outside the four walls of the church. This manifests in practical and spiritual ways on the streets of southern New Hampshire as well as through teaching and doing outreach abroad in other nations of the earth.
He is currently living in Manchester, New Hampshire, and is married to Christen Nine (also a Gordon graduate). They have two little ones, a boy named Daniel and a girl named Marya.
We want to hear from you! Send us your “alumni highlight,” and let us know if you would be willing to help current Gordon students by speaking at a student event, hosting the EBO club at your company or organization, or connecting students with internships or job opportunities. Feel free to email me directly at [email protected] and I will help connect you to the right person on campus.