Payne Fellow says he ‘couldn’t ask for a better job’
Economics student Miles White will spend the summer going over economic policy and data as the A.A. Payne Research Fellow. He says the job is 'basically taking my hobby and applying to my academics.'
A summer filled with spreadsheets, data and economic policy never sounded so interesting.
Economics undergraduate student Miles White will be spending this summer and the next academic year poring over data in McMaster’s medium-security Public Economics Data Laboratory.
White secured the unique opportunity after being named recipient of the $15,000 A.A. Payne Research Fellowship.
“Honestly, even if they didn’t pay me, I would still do this,” says the third-year economics student. “In fact, I would pay them to do this. Before I was just an average student and now I have this amazing opportunity to learn from an expert in the public economics field.”
White was chosen as recipient of the A.A. Payne Fellowship following an application and interview process open to all McMaster undergraduate economic students. The fellowship will see White work alongside economics Professor Abigail Payne as she studies issues around Ontario student performance and how elections might impact school decisions.
As the recipient of the fellowship, which is funded through an anonymous donation made by one of Payne’s former students, White will work full-time during the summer and continue working part-time during the school year.
“The chance to work so closely with a researcher of Professor Payne’s calibre is really unique,” says White, adding he is excited to work on a research project that could impact public policy.
“I am always reading about politics and economics,” White says. “This is basically taking my hobby and applying it to my academics. I couldn’t ask for a better job.”
