Club Spotlight: Exeter Economics Association
Kaylee Gong / The Exonian
By ARYAN AGARWAL, V MURDAYA, JAYDEN OH, and KEVIN THANT
When people think about economics, they see a Wall Street trader hunched over a cluttered desk wearing a Patagonia vest and rolled-up sleeves. Three monitors sit in front of them with red and green numbers flashing, Outlook notifications ping, and, most importantly, money is being made. As phones ring and keyboards click incessantly, the high-adrenaline atmosphere builds upon itself. That’s why it seems so far away for most Exonians — a new universe compared to the slightly less hectic lifestyle at our school. EEA, though, proves that a deep understanding of competitive economics is something that even high schoolers can attain.
Meeting on Mondays at 7 p.m. for curriculum and Sundays for discussion, the club can be demanding. Members bring in knowledge of all different levels; EEA’s existence is a testament to high schoolers having a learning capability beyond the usual expectation, as members grasp fundamental concepts regarding how our society functions.
The question arises: why exactly should one learn economics in the first place? Discussion leader, lower Eli Orbach said that economics, “by its nature, is very much intended to be applied. Oftentimes in school, people criticize subjects because of questions like, when will someone ever use the quadratic formula in real life? Economics though, it’s all about real life. That’s the whole point. It’s about understanding how the markets, the world we live in, and how civilization itself works.”
President of EEA, senior Dhruv Nagarajan said, “Economics is more than just abstract theories and abstract curves. It’s very easy to get bogged down by all the theories, but it boils down to being a social science. It deals with the problem of scarcity, something that we are all going to face no matter who we are.” Apart from all the numbers, graphs, and flashing lights that come to mind, economics deals with the ubiquitous idea of distributing limited resources. Nagarajan continued, “Thus, the mission of EEA is to spread a love for learning economics throughout the Exeter community. We are here to educate the next generation of young economists.”
One of these young economists, lower Drona Gaddam, said, “EEA has a certain kind of aura. When I was first applying to Exeter, the first thing that I saw was the National Economics Challenge and how they did well.” Regarding his future, he said that, eventually, “when you go to college, they have undergraduate consulting and finance clubs. EEA has historically done well with placing kids into those places.” The club not only teaches students well but has a strong record of producing strong economists who move on to productive careers. This detail serves as an attraction for many Exonians to join the club.
“We have been pretty vibrant, quite involved, and successful over the last several years,” shared club adviser Aykut Kilinc. “We have a very strong leadership where co-heads run the day-to-day operations, spreading the love and appreciation for economics by studying and preparing for various competitions.”
The club operates on numerous levels, catering to both the casual economist and the more seasoned, competitive one. “Our goal is to educate people about economics and to give them opportunities and the resources they need to learn quickly and effectively,” said Orbach.
Furthermore, Orbach shared, “We host lectures every Monday from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the forum. We also have discussions about all sorts of topics in the Seabrook Room from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays and competitions in order to further motivate people to learn.”
What’s mostly taught in the curriculum meetings on Monday is the AP curriculum for both microeconomics and macroeconomics. Moreover, there is an advanced textbook for those looking to push themselves or attempting to represent the school in economics competitions. For the majority of serious members, these lectures sparked their activity in the club.
“Now I enjoy leading those curriculum meetings that I once sat in the back of the EPAC Forum listening to, hopefully spreading that love to younger Exonians,” Nagarajan highlighted.
As one of the most successful clubs on campus, boasting one of the best economic teams in the country, EEA also has a competitive side where they participate in numerous competitions. Even before the school year started, club members were hard at work.
“We had two preseason events. We had the NEC global round, which was in Hong Kong, but the Exeter team went virtually. It was a four person team for Exeter, which consisted of entirely preps during the summertime. On that team, we won gold with the highest test score at the competition. Most recently was YEI, which is another preseason event,” Gaddam commented.
All of this, however, is merely preparation for EEA’s main competitions: “We attend the Northwestern Economics Tournament in April. About a week after that, we attend the Harvard Pre-Collegiate Economics Tournament. Then close to the end of the school year, we attend the National Economics Challenge in Atlanta,” Orbach highlighted. Exeter has done extremely well in the past at these competitions, placing second place or higher in all three competitions, indicative of their status as one of the best economics teams in the country.
Economics, by all accounts, is one of the most important disciplines in the world. Nonetheless, it is an overwhelming field, one where students can easily be misguided and pressured. Nagarajan ended on a fantastic note for those who aspire to enter the area: “Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid of not getting everything on the first try, seeing all of the relationships and every single variable. Rather than just plainly memorizing those relationships, when you have a more fundamental understanding, you actually gain an appreciation for the puzzle that economics really is. At the end of the day, economics really comes down to the way people think.”
