Olivia Krog – March 2019
Texas A&M Department of Economics Amazing Student
March, 2019
Hometown: University Park, TX
High School: Veritas Christian Academy
Degree objective: Master of Science in Economics with a concentration in Financial Econometrics and a OLIVIA KROG – MARCH 2019 certificate in Transfer Pricing; Bachelor of Science in Economics with a minor in Business Administration
Expected graduation: May 2019
University highlights, awards, scholarships: Two highlights of my time at Texas A&M have been representing Texas A&M as a delegate on the MSC J. Wayne Stark Northeast Tour, and winning semifinalist in the Texas A&M Public Speaking Contest. Additionally, I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to advocate on behalf of Texas A&M’s 69,000+ students in the Student Senate, and to study abroad on the Mays International Business Study Abroad Trip and at the London School of Economics.
Clubs/Organizations I am (was) a part of: I have been a member of Kappa Alpha Theta since August of my freshman year, and since then, have enjoyed getting to know people from across campus and serving in various leadership roles in organizations including: The Texas A&M Student Senate, The Big Event, College Republicans, Econ-Aggies Career Association, Texas A&M Economics Society, Transfer Pricing Aggies, Reformed University Fellowship, Business Information Technology Students, Sophomores Leading and Motivating, and Bryan Outreach.
Current employment: As a grad student, I have been a Teaching Assistant for the Department of Economics. During the summer of 2018, I interned as a Transfer Pricing Analyst at Economics Partners in Morristown, New Jersey. There I conducted industry and company analysis; evaluated global data and statistics; and analyzed, drafted, and edited transfer pricing reports for clients across a diverse range of industries. The summer between my junior and senior year, I held two internships in Austin, TX. At the Texas Public Policy Foundation, I was a Center for Economic Freedom Intern, conducting data analysis, writing and presenting reports on economic policy, and ultimately publishing Municipal Right of Way Fees and Consumer Finance reports in The Houston Chronicle and additional publications. I also worked for U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, addressing constituent concerns and providing solutions to various issues, as well as managing spreadsheets and databases, conducting correspondence, and communicating policy to citizens across the country. In the summer of 2016, I was an Information Technology Intern at ConocoPhillips in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and had the opportunity to manage technology and global changes, to lead global meetings, and in my spare time, to get involved with Toastmasters and community outreach programs like the Boys & Girls Club. During my first summer in college, I worked as a counselor for 2nd through 5th graders at Pine Cove Silverado in Columbus, Texas, running around in the famously hot Texas sun and having the time of my life teaching my campers about Jesus.
Family ties to Texas A&M: I was born and raised bleeding maroon. Both my parents graduated from Texas A&M. And all four of the sisters in my family have chosen to be Fightin’ Texas Aggies, classes of’ 18, ’19, ’22, and ’23.
I chose to attend Texas A&M because… Some of the sweetest moments of my childhood consisted of riding my bike around campus and under the Albritton Bell Tower, drinking chocolate milk at Sbisa, buying t-shirts at G. Rollie White Coliseum, cheering on the Aggies in the freezing cold at our last Thanksgiving victory over t.u. at Texas Memorial Stadium, and doodling “Aggie Class of2018” in notebooks in elementary school. My home was basically filled with the “Spirit that can ne’er be told.”
My favorite things to do on campus are… Listening to the piano in the MSC Flag Room, strolling under the U.S. Flag on Military Walk, reading beside the pond at the George Bush Library, and watching the sunset over College Station from the top of Evans Library.
When I have free time, I like… To read, to drive, to go to the gym, to keep up with current and political events around the world, to catch up with friends and family, to sing, to play guitar, to learn a new language, and to just soak in the moment, especially in the beauty of nature.
The craziest thing I’ve done is… Running off a mountain and then floating upward into the sky when I went paragliding over the Alps in Innsbruck, Austria.
My favorite place to study is… Anywhere most of campus doesn’t know about and is close to coffee.
My favorite memory of studying abroad… In Innsbruck in 2017, enjoying a tranquil Sunday afternoon surrounded by ponds and pony carts at the park, looking up at the snow-covered Alps.
My favorite ECON professor is… Dr. Tim Gronberg
My favorite part of being an Economics student is… Getting to know Dr. Lorraine Eden and being in her Transfer Pricing program.
If I could share an afternoon with anyone, I would love to share it with… C.S. Lewis. I began reading The Chronicles ofNarnia when I was four, and have continued reading other of his works through college (my favorite is Mere Christianity), ultimately completing a paper analyzing some of his views on Christian faith in the public forum during a course at A&M. When I studied at the London School of Economics during the summer of 2018, I was able to visit his home in Oxford.
If I knew I could not fail, I would… Establish an independent, non-profit orphanage in China.
If money was not a consideration, I would love to… Establish an independent, non-profit orphanage in China.
What is your passion and how are you committed to pursuing it? My passion is sharing the joy and grace of Jesus Christ with others, and I pray each day to reflect that, both here at Texas A&M and soon in New York City.
After graduation, I plan to… Upon graduation, I will begin my fulltime career at KPMG in New York City as a Tax Associate specializing in Transfer Pricing.
The one Texas A&M experience I will always remember is… Standing beside my sister at Muster as the name of my mother’s friend from her time at A&M and subsequent career together was called, and hearing an arena full of Aggies say “here.”