Berk User will always be one of the founding Vice-Presidents of the University of Toronto Economics Club. It’s an impressive contribution to student life for any undergraduate, especially for one who only minored in economics. The New College student has just completed his BCom specializing in Management with minors in German Studies and Economics.
An optimist, User has no regrets about his breadth of learning, or that the first year of his degree was completely online followed by a second year that combined remote learning with in-person lectures and masks.
“It was a great way to learn self-discipline, flexibility and time management,” User said. “It introduced me to remote work and, I want to get into consulting, and a lot of consulting companies have hybrid models so I will know how to stay productive when I am working in that environment.”
Whether online or in-person. User acknowledges that his courses in economics always presented challenges to be met.
“It’s been tough but rewarding!” User said. “International Trade was a super tough course. Kevin Lim, though, was a great prof and even agreed to judge one of our case competitions,” User recalled. “Economic Development was also a really challenging, but great course. I ran into Professor Blouin at the department one day and I was able to tell him how much I learned and to thank him for that course.”
One of the key challenges in mastering difficult concepts and models is finding ways to apply learning to real-life scenarios, which is where the Economics Club comes in.
The Economics Club plans and runs social events for students and communicates mainly through its Instagram account. Throughout the academic year, they introduce members to potential careers through contact with alumni speakers, faculty and grad students. They’ve also partnered with other student societies, like the Hart House Debating Club, to give students opportunities to try out new skills. They have also run case competitions. The club was formed by User, current club President Nicolas Martinez-Gonzalez, and founding president Alexander Wagner.
As founders, the trio took on creation of the Economics Club constitution and organizational structure. They also selected directors and managers by collecting and examining resumes and then conducting interviews to find the most compatible candidates for the executive team.
The decision to form the club was, in part, a post-pandemic response. Some student societies used an apprenticeship system to define who could assume which roles and when. It was a structure User and the other founders worried might exclude some students from gaining leadership and organizing experience.
“I think it has changed now,” User remembered, “but at the time it was hard for students who had been learning remotely for their first year to find their way into the system once everyone was back on campus.”
The first case competition the club organized gave potential members the choice to register as a fully formed team, or to register alone and be randomly assigned to a team.
“I really came to appreciate the risk the people who registered alone took to compete,” User said. “They had no idea if the other members of their team would know how to approach the problem, or how it would all work out, but it really did all work out. The major lesson I learned is not to be afraid to take a risk and go it alone to try something new and gain an experience.”
It was a major lesson that helped User to achieve his minor in economics and complete his degree.
“My teaching assistants and I enjoy teaching enthusiastic and open-minded undergraduates like Berk,” said Professor Arthur Blouin. “I’m proud that our students understand the complexities of the global economic landscape and how communities adjust when economic resources are limited. I wish Berk, and the whole class of 2024, all the best as they set out on new journeys.”
Return to the Department of Economics website.
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