V: Today, I have a really cool guest lined up. This is a Colorado native that has interned for the U.S. Department of State. Clearly she has been everywhere and this is just the beginning. But let’s get the story from you, Tory Louis. Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself first?
TORY:I’m from Colorado. I am originally from a town called Pueblo, where there is a lot of Hispanic heritage. Then my family moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado when I was about nine or ten. That is kind of where I finished growing up, but when I turned 18 I wanted to get out of the state and try something new. Temple was offering really good scholarships so when I got one, I came right away. My major is economics. I started in the Fox School of Business and then I switched to the College of Liberal Arts because I wanted to minor in Spanish and do various study abroad experiences. I studied abroad in Tokyo, Japan, last fall, for a full semester. Also, the spring of last year I was part of the Latin American Studies Semester Program. That’s a program where you spend a whole semester taking all Spanish classes, and you go Ecuador for a month. So I’ve studied abroad twice and I really enjoyed that experience. I’m graduating this December. I’m not only interested in economics, but also in policy. I’ve worked in the government both at the federal and state level. I’ve also done other economics research jobs. So that’s just a bit about me!
V:I highly recommend studying abroad too (if you have the resources to). What has been your greatest project as a college student?
TORY: Here at Temple we have a lot of student organizations, and the economics major has one called the Temple Economics Society. It’s officially an SPO, which is a student professional organization in Fox. However, we welcome students of all majors because there is a CST Econ major and Business School Econ major and a Liberal Arts Econ major. I got involved with it second semester of my freshman year. Then my sophomore year, because I had friends on the executive board, I was invited to join the executive board. That’s when I really fell in love with the organization. I went to every meeting, and the conferences in D.C. Last year, the president and vice president graduated, so my friend Ben and I became co-presidents. While I studied abroad first semester, he ran the organization. Then while he studied abroad second semester, I ran the club. We did really great things with TES during our presidency. Our predecessors set us up for it. We grew our membership by 68%. We bring in an econ speaker every week; it could be anyone from J.P. Morgan to KPMG to State Representatives to nonprofits to law school admissions. On top of that, we do a lot of volunteer events and social events. I’ve made some of my college best friends through TES. The final thing we started was monthly luncheons for women who study economics. Economics has the lowest proportion of female graduates of any major, with the exception of engineering and physics majors.
V: Wow, I had no idea that there was such a low amount of women in economics, that’s crazy. On another note, you told me you interned at the U.S. Department of State, what was that experience like? What did you learn?
TORY: The D.C. experience is a really great one, and one I recommend for everyone. If you get the chance to work for the federal government, in some capacity, I highly recommend it. It’s a great way to learn how the sausage is made, as we say, how everything works from the inside. It’s really not pretty, but you learn a whole lot. I worked for the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. Everyday was different. I like to say that every day we were putting out a little fire. Sometimes there would be development with North Korea and all hands were on deck there, but then there would be development with Iran and all hands were on deck there. I always considered myself to be informed with world events, but when you’re working there you have to develop so much in depth expertise on super complex things very quickly in order to keep up. Also, the building there is like a maze, so I figured out how to work a grid system. Beyond that, D.C. is such an amazing place to intern because there are so many ambitious, young individuals.
V: Did you face any challenges working there as a female or as a younger person?
TORY:It’s interesting because in my office, there were fifteen people, but only two of them were women. Yet, the interns were all females. It’s interesting because the more established workers are mostly male, but the future workforce is mostly female. Also, the Bureau has a female assistant secretary, the person in charge of the Bureau, who is great and very supportive. There is a culture of women being underrepresented, but it’s obvious things are changing. I never felt discriminated against, I only felt encouraged by both the men and the women.
V:What got you interested in policy?
TORY:As I mentioned before, I moved from Pueblo to Colorado Springs when I was pretty young. Pueblo is very old-school union, democrat town. Then Colorado Springs is an extremely conservative town. It has the highest portion of megachurch goers per capita in the U.S., although that may have changed recently. A lot of the megachurches are headquartered there. We also have a lot of military there, and they tend to be a bit conservative, as well. I moved from this working class, democrat town to this wealthier, conservative town. It was honestly kind of a culture shock. That’s when I started exploring the questions: Why are things the way they are? Why do these people believe the things they believe? From there, I started looking into government and policy, and how it affects people. Then I moved to Philadelphia, which is significantly more liberal. Seeing all these different places and different ways of life really got me more interested. Policy and government really do have an impact.
V: I think traveling, and seeing more of the world is truly what allows people to develop their passions so it’s funny you mention that. What’s your advice to people that want to follow a similar path, whether that be in Econ or policy?
TORY: So for Econ, you’ll hear a lot of advice from professors telling you to take math classes. It’s important to have a math foundation, but if you aren’t math oriented, don’t think you need to take linear algebra in order to be a good econ major. There is room for all different types of Econ majors- those interested in math, those who are more business oriented and those who want to see how Econ impacts people in a more sociological way. Don’t be scared by the math requirements because it can be as heavy or as light as you want it to be. In terms of going into government, especially if you want to work in D.C., you need to get started August through October of the year before because the process is very long. If you need a security clearance, that process will be even longer about three to six months. They will interview all your bosses, and all your friends and all your family members. Just be prepared for a very long and arduous process, but it’s worth it.
V: I’m sure it was worth it, your experiences sound truly out remarkable. Okay fun question time! What is a weird food combination you like?
TORY:The other night, I go up to the cashier at Chipotle, and ask him for guac and queso. Just half guac, half queso mixed together. And they just looked at me and kept passing me down the line to different workers. Finally, one of them said, “You just want half queso, half guac together in this bowl?” I was willing to pay for it, so I got it.
V:Oh no! Haha I hate queso.
TORY: Well I would see why you wouldn’t like it then. But if you like both guac and queso, putting them together is a delicious fusion.
V: Well you heard it here first folks, the queso at Chipotle isn’t that bad, and mixing it with guac makes it taste even better! Regardless, thank you so much, Tory, for your interview. I really admire all your work, and how far you have gotten as a simple college student. To all the current college students out there, remember you can do everything and anything you set your mind to. To the readers, thanks for staying tuned and make sure to check back in next Sunday for another New Story Sunday!
Xoxo, V