Since my freshman year, I have attended every Upton Forum. Every year, I understood more and therefore enjoyed each one more than the previous one. Though I always have high expectations for the Miller Upton Forum, this year’s far exceed what I thought it would be. As a senior, I was taking the Economics Senior Seminar class at the time of the Miller Upton Forum, and professor Diep Phan’s coursework provided us with all the necessary information and mental pathways to get the most out of the Forum.

Professor John List was very welcoming, open, and insightful, not to mention au courant in the field of experimental economics. His suggestions on my senior thesis pointed me in the right direction to finishing a seemingly impossible project. It was very inspiring and encouraging to learn firsthand from such a prominent economist. In addition, the Upton Forum provided the school with a setting where dialogue from different perspectives is welcomed, and we were able to see different views of the experimental method from various departments. This is quite consistent with the breadth and depth that we emphasize here at Beloit College. Overall, I am a better student and individual having attended the forum, and the experience encapsulated the definition of a liberal arts education.