Meet Justin Wang | President of the Junior Economic Club of Atlanta

We had the good fortune of connecting with Justin Wang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Justin, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Reflecting upon this past school year that I have led in the Junior Economic Club of Atlanta, I realize that I have made both intellectual and interpersonal strides at a pace that is unlike any other which I have experienced previously. Through coordinating events for the Junior Economic Club of Atlanta’s members, collaborating on projects with fellow Board Members, and conducting outreach efforts with industry-leading professionals, I have expanded the breadth of my knowledge in Economics and learned how to work more efficiently with a team. And, in my role in the Junior Economic Club of Atlanta, I founded the Atlanta Youth Economic Council, jumpstarted the chapter’s Guest Speaker Series, and reestablished the Youth Outreach Program while consistently leading internal dialogues within the Board. Since I juggled multiple projects simultaneously throughout the school year, I created longer days to manage the workload effectively. When the timelines of several of my projects intersected, I was vigilant to preserve the quality of my work, maintain effective communication with fellow Board Members, and continue to deliver my work in a timely manner.

I recognized this year that strong time management skills are paramount for any leader, and that incorporating efficient time management strategies into my workflow will mitigate the likelihood of an overwhelming workload from developing in the future. Allocating a section of my time everyday towards planning and reflection has allowed me to actively monitor my progress while preparing for any hurdles that may arise. Through honing these indispensable time management skills, I have accelerated my personal development and become the most effective leader for the Junior Economic Club of Atlanta that I can be.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Though there is a significant demonstrated interest among high school students towards a career path in Economics, there is an observable deficit of economics-related opportunities available for high school students, thereby thwarting the accessibility of early experiences in the field. There are approximately 35,000 students who strive to pursue a post-secondary education in Economics each year. However, there are only two accessible programs in which high school students are able to broaden their economic horizons: The National Economics Challenge (NEC) and the High School Federal Reserve Challenge (HSFRC). To exacerbate this deficit, the HSFRC is strictly regional, thus limiting its participants to students from only the New York and Chicago Federal Reserve Districts.

This geographic limitation left the Junior Economic Club of Atlanta’s members with NEC as the sole accessible economics-related opportunity available to them. Unwilling to let this disparity remain unaddressed, I decided to seize initiative: I first contacted the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta’s educational outreach team in hopes of developing a smaller scale HSFRC to be held. My efforts, here, were to no avail; the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s educational outreach team was unable to sponsor such an event, citing a shortage of both staff and funding. Notwithstanding, I contacted the educational outreach teams at the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago and New York, asking if they would be willing to accommodate a limited number of teams from Georgia into their respective regional challenges. With the failure of this second effort, I turned to the economics departments of five separate universities, hoping that they would be able to facilitate a substitutive solution to this competitive educational disparity. Over the course of several months, from October 2022 to March 2023, I conducted a series of extensive outreach efforts, totaling to hundreds of emails to faculty members at Duke University, Emory University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of North Georgia, and Vanderbilt University.

I am pleased and proud to state that my prolonged efforts were validated, as I was able to secure an opportunity to work with economics faculty from the University of North Georgia, arranging for an HSFRC-adjacent challenge to be held during the 2023-2024 school year across the Southeastern Federal Reserve District. Through tenacious drive while creating this new initiative, I was able to construct another coveted economics-related opportunity for high school students across the Southeast while also learning how to tackle a classic supply-and-demand scenario in a creative, persistent manner.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Atlanta City Treasurer Courtney Knight has played a pivotal role in the Junior Economic Club of Atlanta’s success. He has gone out of his way to support the group, setting up various opportunities for our members and teaching about Public Economics’ real-world implications throughout Atlanta.

Website: https://jecatlanta.org/

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