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Caylee O

- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at Stanford University

Expertise

Education and housing inequality, development, applied microeconomics, public economics

Bio

I was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, and received a BS in mathematics and a BA in economics from the University of Alabama in 2018. During my undergraduate studies, I was able to study abroad in Spain, where I improved my Spanish comprehension and speaking abilities, and in Tanzania, where I learned Swahili and worked on a research project to determine whether parents in rural Tanzania are differentially engaged in male children's educations (as compared with that of female children). My current research interests fall within development economics and the economics of education. I also have interests in public, labor, and urban economics, particularly within the topics of housing, income, and educational inequality. Outside of research, I enjoy photography, reading, learning languages, and making jewelry!

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Education inequity within the United States

This project involves synthesizing the existing body of research on educational inequality within the United States, and using the information gleaned from existing academic literature to come up with a research topic of your own. It's generally easiest to come up with an idea that is focused on a specific region (i.e. the American South), age group (i.e. elementary school education), or other relevant category, rather than looking at the United States as a whole.

Coding skills

MATLAB, Stata, LaTex

Languages I know

Swahili, Spanish

Teaching experience

During my undergraduate studies, I was a mentor and student leader for Al's Pals Afterschool Mentoring Program for four years, and was President of the program for one year. I worked with elementary school students in underserved communities for two hours every week on school work, reading, and other education-related activities. I also tutored a middle school student in Palo Alto, CA for one year, primarily in math. When I was in high school, I tutored a middle school student and a high school student in math.

Credentials

Work experience

Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (2018 - 2020)
Predoctoral Research Fellow
Goldman Sachs (2016 - 2017)
Operations Summer Analyst

Education

University of Alabama
BS Bachelor of Science (2018)
Mathematics, Economics
Stanford University
PhD Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Economics

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