PB2A

Figuring out why the world works the way it does has always been a pretty big interest of mine.  However, attempting to answer a question like that is a bit above my niveau; it is a pretty big question to answer, in particular for this assignment, and the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. So being given the opportunity to start my undergraduate research career I wanted to choose something practical, of interest to me, and something aligned with the interests of scholars here at the university. My economics professor, Dr. Anthony Gyapong, was a logical choice because he is somebody I interact with on a weekly basis. His lectures on the financial system are always insightful and thought provoking. After reading a little background on my professor it turns out that he focuses his research on two areas that are of interest to me: Education Economics and African Economies. Education was one of the first ideas I conjured up whilst brainstorming for this project because I feel as though it is a large issue in our society. There are a few avenues I wouldn’t mind delving into more, one of them potentially being the education gap that exists in our country. African Studies, on the other hand, was not something that I had thought of previously. But after doing a little more introspection, the light bulb went off in my head. I have been interested in cryptocurrency ever since it boomed in the recent past. Similarly, I had remembered hearing somebody speak about how the introduction of cryptocurrency in Africa has lead to economic growth in third world nations. Combining my interest in cryptocurrency with my professors passion for African Economics seems like a home run and something I would totally be interested in learning more about. 

P.S. Since I won’t be attending PSU Abington next semester I will be unable to participate in the ACURA program … which is a total bummer since it seems like a great opportunity. However I still have a huge interest in doing undergrad research in some capacity. With this being said, I am going to tailor the rest of my PBAs and WPs towards a proposal for independent undergraduate research. Wish me luck!