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Maggie Pavao ‘26 is a Tour Guide on campus and volunteers with the Overbrook Arts program where she helps coordinate weekly art projects for students in Philadelphia. She contributes as a student photographer and videographer for 51����Ƶ’s Athletics department, while also working as a Major Representative and Teaching Assistant in the Economics department. Here, Maggie shares the story of her academic journey and the decision to pursue a double major in Economics and Mathematics.  

Which courses helped shape your academic path? 

Coming into 51����Ƶ, I thought that I wanted to be a high school math teacher, so I always knew math was going to be a part of my time at 51����Ƶ. Throughout high school I loved math, so it felt natural to continue it in college. I didn’t discover economics until the spring semester of my first year. When registration for classes came around, I was struggling to find a fourth class which is how I stumbled into “Intro to Economics.” The class was challenging but I found it to be intriguing and different from any other class I had taken.

I like how math and economics are intertwined, and I liked the idea of pursuing a minor in economics.

Eventually, as I took more classes with the economics department, I bumped up my minor to a major. I always feel like economics became part of my 51����Ƶ experience kind of by surprise, but I’ve truly enjoyed learning as both a math and an economics student.   

Tell us about a class that sparked your curiosity.  

I feel lucky to have taken many courses that have been enjoyable in their own ways, but I will list two that stood out. My favorite math course that I’ve taken is “Mathematical Modeling and Simulation” with Professor Erica Graham. In this class, we worked with programming in R to model problems and apply different mathematical concepts to real life instances. I liked how it was unlike any other math class I had taken at 51����Ƶ and helped me gain skills that I will use as I form my post-grad career.  

My favorite economics class that I’ve taken is “Introduction to Behavioral Economics” with Professor Prithvijit Mukherjee. We talked about decision-making behaviors and often played games as a class to learn about the concepts we were discussing. My favorite part of the class was the project we had to do over the course of the semester where we got the chance to apply concepts which we had learned. I found that it allowed me to hone my presentation skills while also preparing me for working on future economic projects.  

"Although in the end, we might not have won the contest, it was a fun experience and one of my favorite memories from 51����Ƶ. It also allowed me to do math in a different setting and apply what I had been learning in my classes."

Tell us about a time you were able to put learning into action.  

During my freshman year and junior year, I participated in the TriCeraTops problem-solving contest at Swarthmore. In small groups, we were tasked with solving a list of challenging math problems. I’m a big fan of puzzles so it was challenging, but fun to attempt each question. We were given the chance to compete against students within the Tri-Co and it gave me a good opportunity to look at Swarthmore’s campus. Although in the end, we might not have won the contest, it was a fun experience and one of my favorite memories from 51����Ƶ. It also allowed me to do math in a different setting and apply what I had been learning in my classes. 

What advice would you give to a first year in the process of declaring a major(s)?   

Don’t be afraid to explore something that challenges you or you weren’t planning on pursuing when entering college. Also, attend different departments' major information sessions! They are a great way to get a feel for the department and talk to current students about class recommendations.