By Elizabeth Hudak 

On Thursday, September 26, members of the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees held an open-ended panel for all economics students at Hill. The required event took place in the McNally Room and included members Robert Oberrender ’78, Douglas Brody ’02, Hans Maentz ’89, and Chairman Douglas Bouquard ’00. During the one-hour time slot, students asked questions about many topics regarding everything from real estate investment, BitCoin, to networking after Hill. This is the first year that a panel of this kind has taken place. 

“I don’t know if there’s anything more important that we can do at this school than exposing students to real-world examples,” Instructor of Economics Ari Baum said. “Even if you’re not interested in working in finance or Wall Street, the best way that we learn is by being directly exposed to aspirational examples.” 

“Making the real-life comparisons helped me understand specific concepts and ideas better,” AP Economics student Noorie Dhingra ’21 said. “You get to see what you’re learning apply to daily life.” 

Economics students traditionally hear from a variety of speakers throughout the year, and members of the Investment Committee are a key component to this aspect of the class. According to Baum, many of the committee members that comprised the panel host the economics students on their annual spring trip to the New York Stock Exchange. 

Notable attendee Bouquard, a former editor of The Hill News and currently a managing director for Goldman Sachs, has been a trustee since 2006 and has served as chair of the Investment Committee for the past three years. 

“I love interacting with the students – so much of why I’m still involved here is because when I was a student, it was just such a remarkable experience for me,” Bouquard said. “When I look back, this is specifically the four years that were the most formative for me. That’s my favorite part of the job.” 

“My biggest takeaway from the speakers was that everyone in that room loves Hill, and everyone wants to make it a better place,” Dhingra said. “We may disagree on how to make it a better place, but if we all come together and share our collective ideas and knowledge, we can do so much.”