Economics Club Brings Back Gold from Harvard

While some Exonians struggled to leave their beds and reach the dining hall on a calm Saturday morning, a group of seven seniors contended to slam buzzers and interpret externalities in the highly esteemed Harvard Precollegiate Economics Challenge. In a competition where more than 30 teams from all over the nation and world participated, Exeter came out on top with first place in the Academy’s second appearance.The competition, which has taken place annually for the past several years, tests passionate students in microeconomics, macroeconomics, contemporary economics and recent financial events. With some teams having traveled all the way from Chile and South Korea, the day began with an individual multiple choice test that determines each team’s seed. Following the assessment, each group vied against one another in quiz bowl style matches until the winner, Phillips Exeter, was announced.“Our team was incredibly balanced between individuals with economic and mathematical knowledge, allowing us to quickly respond to a wide range of questions,” senior Max Sak, who was a member of the team, said. “Although we could have done better in a few instances, we did not lose a single round, and overall, I think we did quite well thanks to the efforts of Mr. Secondi and the synergies of the team.”Sak continued, noting two elements key to the Academy’s success, one of which involved the expertise of history instructor Giorgio Secondi, who coached and led the team to the triumph.“Our victory is a testament to the teaching skills of Mr. Secondi and the dedicated students of economics that can be found here at Exeter,” Sak said. “I hope that our victory continues to raise the profile of economics at our school.”Senior Paul Lee, who also participated in the contest, added, “We stood out because of our teamwork. We were good at guessing the questions or intuitively answering a lot of them without hearing the whole question, which is critical in a quiz bowl format where you buzz in to give an answer.”Even though Exeter seemed a little nervous at first, the student economists quickly found their pace and let their brains take over.“Once we calmed down and figured out our strategy, we were unstoppable. Each member was a vital part of the win,” senior Leigh Marie Braswell said.Last year, a similar group of Exonians attended the competition but did not place in the quiz bowl section.“We had a little more time for training this year, since last year we started to prepare at the last minute,” Secondi said. “Also, the members of the team really complemented each other’s strengths, an advantage that benefited our outcome. It is a team effort, and we needed to cover all our bases, which we did well.”In addition to the team chemistry and ample preparation time, only Exonians with the deepest understanding of important topics were chosen by Secondi to compete in the tournament.“In January, I put out an email to anyone in economics courses or a member of the Economics Club to attend an informational meeting,” Secondi said. “If people were interested, they could partake in a few training sessions, and at the beginning of spring term we had a test to decide who the top people were.”After the students were selected, they trained vigorously as the competition date grew closer and closer.“We met ten to fifteen times for about an hour each to learn microeconomics and review random topics in economics,” Braswell said. “The most effective preparation was doing practice exams and quiz bowl simulations with each other.”However, this was no easy feat and demanded intensive commitment. “Learning lots of material outside of class was difficult and required significant dedication,” Braswell said.As a result of going through long hours of learning the more complex and in-depth topics in economics, the event helped the team members learn more about the subject and become confident with their current knowledge, while also having fun.“Winning the final round of the quiz bowl was both terrifying and exhilarating. We had to answer questions in a huge auditorium with every participant watching,” Braswell said.Secondi added, “We had fun with it. We took it seriously at times but also not so seriously, and we laughed all the way through, which is how it is supposed to be.”