This summer, I had the privilege of receiving a PURM grant to conduct research in the economics department. Before I got to college, I had no intention of ever being involved in research, but CURF made the opportunity easily accessible. Whereas most research programs require previous experience, the PURM program allowed me to have an incredible experience despite never having conducted research before. The objective of my project was to construct a measure of the fiscal health of a city based on municipal bond rating and study the evolution of this measure for sample of large metropolitan areas in the U.S. For ten weeks, I got to work hand in hand with esteemed University of Pennsylvania faculty. The faculty involved with PURM are helpful and knowledgeable; their goal is to provide you with a hands on research experience. During this time, I learned invaluable new tools that will apply to not only research but to my classes as well including proper work edicate in the academia, new software skills, and enhanced writing abilities. Participating in research opened me up to a new field I did not know existed and brought me closer to selecting my field of study at Penn. Beyond the work itself, PURM offered many different workshops and get togethers for the students who were participating in the program. These events, all different in size and purpose, ranged from resume workshops and fellowship information sessions to barbeques outside on nice summer days. There truly was an event for everyone, regardless of where their interests lied. The experience I had has made me decide to plan to continue conducting research at Penn in the future.
This summer, I had the privilege of receiving a PURM grant to conduct research in the economics department. Before I got to college, I had no intention of ever being involved in research, but CURF made the opportunity easily accessible. Whereas most research programs require previous experience, the PURM program allowed me to have an incredible experience despite never having conducted research before. The objective of my project was to construct a measure of the fiscal health of a city based on municipal bond rating and study the evolution of this measure for sample of large metropolitan areas in the U.S. For ten weeks, I got to work hand in hand with esteemed University of Pennsylvania faculty. The faculty involved with PURM are helpful and knowledgeable; their goal is to provide you with a hands on research experience. During this time, I learned invaluable new tools that will apply to not only research but to my classes as well including proper work edicate in the academia, new software skills, and enhanced writing abilities. Participating in research opened me up to a new field I did not know existed and brought me closer to selecting my field of study at Penn. Beyond the work itself, PURM offered many different workshops and get togethers for the students who were participating in the program. These events, all different in size and purpose, ranged from resume workshops and fellowship information sessions to barbeques outside on nice summer days. There truly was an event for everyone, regardless of where their interests lied. The experience I had has made me decide to plan to continue conducting research at Penn in the future.