Charles Rauch

charles-rauch-400x600Name:  Charles Rauch

College: Stevenson College

Department: Economics department

What Award/ Scholarship did you receive?  Economics Department Education Abroad Fellowship for Global Economics

What year do you expect to graduate? 2020

Where do you call home?  Berkeley, California

With all of the choices for college, what made UC Santa Cruz stand out?  A combination of proximity to home, and a good and beautiful environment. I had met a few older kids from my high school that went to Santa Cruz, and they offered great advice. I have always been drawn to the outdoors, and I have memories of taking trips to Santa Cruz for beach days. My campus tour confirmed my memories and I was taken aback by how beautiful each section of the campus was. The idea of walking through the woods to my morning class was enough, paired with stories of positive experiences from those I talked to.

What is your field of focus?  Global Economics. I am minoring in statistics, and have chosen to go in an applied economics or economic analysis direction.

What do you hope to do once you graduate from UC Santa Cruz?  Before I would have wanted to secure employment as soon as possible. But honestly after studying abroad and making friends from so many new countries, I would love to visit some of them again. My traveling experience taught me so much, and also made me aware of how many things in the world I don’t know and have never experienced. Being able to learn so much through ‘everyday life’ is fascinating and unique, and can’t be learned through a textbook. But an income is necessary, and I have been looking into internships or fellowships in the quantitative analysis field, hopefully to get a better idea of specific roles I would like to aim for. In the immediate future I would prefer to live in the Bay Area, but I can see myself relocating to a new city to experience and explore a new environment.

What is one memorable moment that stands out for you as a student here?  It was at the end of my freshman year, during finals week. I had been studying a lot with some friends I made in class. Granted, my classes back then weren’t nearly as hard as they are now, but it was still tougher than anything I had experienced in high school. After hours spent doing calculus on chalkboards, and reading through economics textbooks we were going crazy. We came up with the idea of taking ‘wellness breaks’ to make studying more enjoyable and more efficient. At least once a day me and my study group would go out to the field and toss a football, shoot around on the basketball courts, or simply lay out in the grass and reminisce on the memories made from our first year at college. I get nostalgic remembering that week because despite being stressed out from finals, decompressing with those guys really made a difference, and I am still good friends with them, three years later.

What is your one piece of advice for incoming students about life at UC Santa Cruz?  Take this time to explore new things, and new ideas. We often think we have a strong idea of who we are, and what we want after leaving high school, but I promise for many people all of that will change. You will have many opportunities to try something new and I advise you to take those opportunities. Santa Cruz is such an open place with a welcoming and kind student body. Take new experiences and keep an open mind and you will be surprised how far you go.
Also, seriously go to office hours and talk to the professors/TA’s. I wish I had learned this earlier because it is so helpful!

How will this scholarship impact your academic life /research?  This scholarship helped my family and me afford my studies in Spain. I am very grateful to have been helped with this, because it ended up being such a great experience. I am sure my experience will impact so many things that I do in the future.

 

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