Ellie Trace
Ellie is a student from the University of St Andrews studying Economics with Russian. Originally from Kinross, Scotland, she is currently in her fourth year and is a Discover Economics Student Champion in Fife.
Why did you choose to study economics?
a. I originally chose to study economics at school because I heard someone say it was one of those topics that they wanted everyone to have been taught about at some point. From there I fell in love with the subject, especially the way it helped me understand what was going on in the world around me. I also had some great teachers who passed on all their wisdom about the world and where Economics has taken them. Having good role models is so important!
How would you describe economics?
I would describe Economics as detangling the web of how everything and everyone interacts. Once you know what is going on and why you can then try and predict what may happen in the future or design policies to help change things for the better.
If you had a time machine and could meet your 16-year-old self, what advice would you give them?
Try and take a step back now and then. Take the time to look at where you’re going and reflect on what you’ve done. There have been so many situations when I have been stuck on a particularly challenging assignment or problem regretting every choice I had made up to that point. Taking a minute to look at everything in perspective and adjusting my mindset helps you remember why you’re doing what you’re doing.
What is your favourite part of economics?
I love behavioural economics; I think it’s a great introductory economic topic because you can always relate it to “what would I do in this situation?” and think about the problem from a personal perspective rather than looking at much bigger global or governmental perspectives. I do also love a spreadsheet, so I particularly enjoy the modules where I get to create snazzy models and analysis (don’t worry they teach you how to do all that stuff!).
Is there anything you would do differently if you had the chance?
I am honestly so happy with where studying Economics has led me. I am having a wonderful time at my last year at university, but I am also so incredibly excited for my next steps. I am heading off to do consulting which is an industry lots of economists choose to go into, but it is also just full of so many clever, hardworking and lovely people. I would not be where I am today without Economics, it has helped me develop so many important skills and changed the way I look at the world around me!