Pembroke College Cambridge

A day in the life: Economics

When Helena Roy (2013) is not studying Economics, she is out on the river coxing, snapping photos for Instagram or taking to the catwalk. Here's a day in her life:

Tuesday 24th February 2015

7.30am Alarm goes off, so I get up and spend way too long making breakfast, which is easily my favourite meal of the day.

8.45am Term is wrapping up, so I go to my final lecture of term in the Law Faculty, which is far nicer than the Economics faculty (it’s so light it feels like you’re working outside) but still resembles Stansted airport.

9.00am Dr Petra Geraats is lecturing on the causes of currency crises as part of the internationally-focused segment of my Macroeconomics paper. Studying currency crises requires analysis of turbulent periods of Southeast Asian and Latin American history, both of which feel closer to home given the instability in the Eurozone.

This has been the most interesting lecture of her course. Economics can be very theoretical and model-focused at times; I think it’s most interesting when linked to real-life examples and historical events, which make it feel more relevant. This has been suggested as a reason fewer women study it - in the UK women make up just 27% of Economics undergraduates.

10.00am I have a two-hour break until my next lecture, so head to the Marshall library to fill the time with some work.

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12.00am Second and last lecture of the day is on Development. I study four units this year: Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Econometrics and Development. Development was my option paper this year, and has proved interesting but crazily diverse.

How good my day is revolves quite strongly around whether or not I get the chance to cook (which I love doing). Today is not my lucky day and I’m trapped on the Sidgewick Site by time constraints, but they have a couple of good, student-friendly cafes about.

2.45pm My first supervision of the day is Microeconomics at Selwyn. I only have one supervision at Pembroke, but really like getting out of college to work. Selwyn has beautiful gardens, which are starting to look much more green now the temperature is no longer freezing.

4.00pm One hour and fifteen minutes later and I head to my second supervision of the day - Econometrics. Econometrics is my favourite subject this year, which was a pleasant surprise given it is in essence statistical methods for economics and essays have always been a stronger point.

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5.00pm Nearly three hours to work in Pembroke library. I have a couple of supervisions left this term, so dip between the two.

8.00pm Rowers converge on 3 Fitzwilliam Street to have a final crew meal before the first day of Lent bumps tomorrow. Chicken and pasta are both in plentiful supply, with over 18 ‘recommended servings’ cooked for 8 people.

For more about studying Economics at Cambridge, see the University's website.

Images: Helena Roy, Dennis Gilbert, Helena Roy, Selwyn College, Caroline Hancox, Gena Wolfson

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