Samen Karim – November 2017
Texas A&M Department of Economics Amazing Student
November, 2017
Name: Samen Karim
Hometown: Sugar Land, Texas
High School: I. H. Kempner High School
Degree objective: Master of Science in Economics Economics
Expected graduation: December 2018
University highlights, awards, scholarships: I am the incoming President of the Economics Society for 2018.
Current employment: Research Assistant with various faculty within the Department of Economics.
Family ties to Texas A&M: I am a first generation Aggie!
I chose to attend Texas A&M because… The culture of A&M is what brought me here. I love the atmosphere and the people that l meet at this school. Even though I am now a senior I still learn amazing things about our rich culture and history.
My favorite things to do on campus are… I think the most beautiful place on campus is the pond behind the ALLEN building. I love to sit there and have coffee after a long day.
When I have free time, I like… I absolutely love to cook! Both of my grandfathers were chefs and so my mom has many vintage family recipes. This past summer I spent one month learning how lo cook various different Pakistani and Indian dishes. I love to host dinner parties for my friends when I try out some of the recipes my mom passed down to me!
The craziest thing I’ve done is… I lived in Southwest Asia for 3 months. I visited the towns that my parents were born in and I experienced my culture firsthand.
My favorite place to study is… Harvest Coffee Bar in downtown Bryan. A very cute coffee shop has an earthy feel lo it. It is very relaxing
My favorite ECON professor is… Dr. Craig Schulman is my all time favorite professor. He is the most genuine person I have ever met. He goes above and beyond to help his students achieve what they need to. He makes me strive to he a better person
If I could share an afternoon with anyone, I would love to share it with… President Obama. His background and journey amaze me. He built his career from the ground up and I feel that many people can relate to the struggles he overcame and the lessons that he had to learn before getting the presidency.
If I knew I could not fail, I would… Become a tenured Professor of Economics at Harvard University
If money was not a consideration, I would love to… Rid the world of income inequality! Everyone deserves a fair chance in life and I believe I would like to begin there.
If money was not a consideration, I would love to…What is your passion and how are you committed to pursuing it? My passion is to encourage people to fulfill their dreams. l begin with the people who are in my life. l try to help my friends to the best of my abilities when they have problems or struggles. I want to see everyone attain what they set out to accomplish. This is one of the reasons I applied to become President of the Economics Society. l will have the chance to directly impact the lives of my peers and hopefully help them gel exceptional internships/full time jobs.
What is your passion and how are you committed to pursuing it? My passion is finding ways to connect people with different cultures and backgrounds. Being someone who was adopted from China and then moved to the US, I’ve always had a multicultural view of the world. I first used cooking as a way to connect with my own background but have evolved to using food as a way to learn about a wide variety of people and cultures. I have been able to meet so many new people due to Texas A&M’s large and diverse student body and hope to continue that wherever I end up.
After graduation, I plan to… Go to graduate school and attain my PhD in Economics.
The one Texas A&M experience I will always remember is… Good times with great friends. I have met some amazing people here at Texas A&M and Twill always cherish those friendships and everything that I learned from them.