A Memoir of The Eloquent Fed Challenge

This year I played a support position on the Fed Challenge. I did not know what to expect when I went to the first meeting. All I knew was that it had something to do with the Federal Reserve. Right from the first start I was extremely impressed with the team. We began by dividing economic indicators among team members; each individual team member was given a specific area to focus on. We analyzed data on an individual basis then meet weekly with our professors to discuss the data. Although we each had a specific area to concentrate on we were not alone in the task. Every team member was more than willing to help and explain areas that they were knowledgeable on. The most impressive part of the whole experience was that the professors gave the students free reign on the organization of the team and took a passive role by allowing us think for ourselves. The only assistance provided was in the interpretation of the data. Presentation of the data was left entirely to the team. It was a very strong team and I was impressed with how well we all worked together. I learned so much from the entire experience. I gained a deeper appreciation for the role of the Federal Reserve System and the important role that the central bank plays in the US economy. I also learned about the different tools that the Fed uses to enact monetary policy and the historical evolution of these tools. The best part about being a part of the Fed Challenge this year is that I had an opportunity to put the theories we learned in the classroom into real a world context. This gave me a perspective of the Federal Reserve System that I could not have gotten out of a book.

Kidus Dirasse, Senior, Economics Major, IPFW Doermer School of Business.