In Their Words: David Ngo

Name: David Ngo

Department: Economics

College: Stevenson

What Award/ Scholarship did you receive? Undergraduate Award in Economics

What year do you expect to graduate?I hope to graduate by Spring 2020.

Where do you call home? Milpitas—and the greater Bay Area—is my home, where I can be with my closest friends and family.

With all of the choices for college, what made UC Santa Cruz stand out? My first reaction: trees. There were trees everywhere. The scenery in UCSC has always astounded me—every path blends with the redwoods and brings me closer to nature, a fresh change of pace from my urbanized hometown. UCSC’s student community reflects the summer weather in a similar way; every student’s attitude was warm and welcoming. Considering my background as a Boy Scout and avid camper, I did not feel as comfortable at other universities as I do at UCSC.  While I did consider UCSC’s academics and many research opportunities, I must admit that the first thing that comes to mind are the trees.

What is your field of focus? My field of focus is Mathematics-Economics.

What do you hope to do once you graduate from UC Santa Cruz? I hope to continue my education towards a Masters in Economics; I am planning to apply to graduate programs in universities such as UCSC and UCLA. I am also hoping to engage in more economics research and public policy advocacy in the future.

What is one memorable moment that stands out for you as a student here? One of my economics professors organized a hackathon for our midterm—for more than three hours, I teamed up with other classmates to identify the shape of a distribution made by unknown data through the use of R programming and advanced statistical methods. Since then, I have never again experienced such excitement and stress in completing a midterm. I thank my professor and students for making a midterm enjoyable as both a bonding experience and an opportunity to test my knowledge.

What is your one piece of advice for incoming students about life at UC Santa Cruz? Make it to office hours! As I am nearing my graduation, I regret not going to office hours as often as I could to get to know my professors. I have discovered that every professor is a unique fount of personality and knowledge.

How will this scholarship/award impact your academic life/research? As a first generation Vietnamese American and EOP student, it has been my goal to achieve higher education and follow my passion in public policy and economic research. This scholarship has helped me reach closer towards graduating with bachelors by removing my concerns about the financial feasibility of higher education. It has also given me courage in continuing my educational aspirations by achieving a master’s degree.