Academic Background

My name is Blake, and I am currently a Senior in my last semester at Penn State. I am originally from Dover, New Hampshire, a seacoast town located about an hour north of Boston. My major is Economics with a focus in Business Economics and Money and Banking while also pursuing a minor in Political Science. Throughout my academic career at Penn State, I have achieved a 3.53 GPA and have served as a grader in ECON351 – Money and Banking.

I have enjoyed classes pertaining to macroeconomics and international finance the most, hence why the blog mainly focuses on these subjects. My interest in politics and the desire to understand how “the system” works is what motivated me to pursue a minor in political science which has helped better my understanding of government policy and interactions, especially when pertaining to economic policy and the impact it can have.

Professional Experience

My previous work experience came during my past two summers where I worked at HRI Commercial Food Service in Erie, PA which is small sized food service equipment dealer. Over the two summers I worked as an Operations Intern where I oversaw the implementation of two ERP software systems and also created Standard Operating Procedures for the core business functions. Additionally, I built skills in Microsoft excel and data cleaning as much of the work pertaining to the ERP implementations involved data cleaning and conversion. I was able to observe how to build value in a company at these internships as the company had two years of 20% revenue growth due to an amazing leader and mentor that I was able to learn from.

Personal

In my free time I enjoy watching sports and staying active. I love to play golf and pickup basketball and stay active by going to the gym or running. My biggest passion though is hiking as being outdoors in the mountains is a place I truly love. Another passion of mine is cooking, not only for myself but for others as food transports emotion and not only nutrients. I am looking forward to graduating and being free to travel and see what the future holds for me. I would love to connect with anyone who shares similar interests or has any exciting opportunities.