Alex Johnson, a senior from Blair, Nebraska, who is majoring in economics and mathematics, used skills learned at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business Administration to secure a highly sought-after position at the Federal Reserve – an internship in the Research and Statistics division at the central banking system of the United States.
“It was a truly phenomenal experience. We were given our own research project to work on and a large amount of autonomy to do so,” Johnson said. “Applying for the internship was a long shot as it was highly competitive.”
During his internship, Johnson worked on a research project where some of the details remain classified. The two-part project focused on ways to measure inflation. They first researched inflation measurements in the U.S. and other countries, and then translated a theoretical model into computer code to see if it was superior to current methods.
Johnson’s academic prowess opened several doors when it was time to choose a university. But the quality of education he knew he would receive at UNL combined with the value, made his choice easy.
“While I was accepted to Ivy League universities, the cost to attend was 10-15 times higher with scholarships taken into account,” he said. “While the other schools carry a certain ‘brand recognition’, UNL is a great school if you take advantage of the resources it offers, and it is a fraction of the cost of a private college.”