Bethany Mader '22

Profile Image
Bethany
Mader '22

I’ve always been interested in history. And international studies seemed relatively similar. Then some economics professors convinced me to explore the econ/poly sci area and ever since it's been so exciting, I’m hooked! I was lucky my high school offered lots of AP credits. And the majors overlap very well.

People think economics is Wall Street bankers staring at stocks, but that's not what we do here. We’re social justice focused. For example, I took a class looking at how economics can be used to prove discrimination. Then, the public policy side asks, ‘What do you do with this information? How can changes make things more just?’ For me, economics is a tool to make the world more just — and that makes it exciting.

Here, since we don't have graduate students, the econ/poli sci undergrads can do research and co-author papers, which is almost unheard of. That’s one of my favorite things.

In high school, my friends and I signed up for all the college mailings as good AP students do. We got letters from St. Kate’s and we were saying, ‘Oh, an all-girl’s school! Who would ever go?’ We laughed and laughed. Later, because we were in the area, I toured St. Kate’s with my parents. I went in thinking I would never go here. Then I was blown away. I've never been so impressed on a college tour as I was with St. Kate's. Just how attentive they were. They cared about my growth as a person, not just my academic growth. It was very different.

Being a women’s college, you just don't have this other focus. Not that all students who attend universities are focused on boys and getting boyfriends, but there's less of that here and more drive to do something good. I enjoy conversations with men, but it's easier when dealing with heavy topics like social justice and similar things. Everyone’s open and willing to be vulnerable.

I've been able to take a lot of courses for career readiness. I’ve learned how to apply for econ/poli sci jobs, what applying to graduate schools looks like and where to find resources. There’s also the Career Development Center here for resumes, cover letters—all that fun stuff. I go there with almost every single resume.

My capstone course had a service-learning component partnering with Frogtown farms. Every Wednesday we’d go to this local farm and help harvest, mulch, plant — whatever they needed. This neighborhood doesn’t have equitable access to food. All they really have is gas station food instead of grocery stores. So it’s a way for them to get nutritious food. It’s also a natural community space where you don't have to pay to exist in that space.

I think a big takeaway of St. Kate's is they push you to personally grow within the community. Not just the faculty or staff, but even the students push you to grow. You learn to build up your confidence, stop second guessing yourself and believe in your skills. I was never surrounded by social justice issues growing up. Being fully immersed in these experiences here and being able to see what's going on in the world makes you grow as a person. I think that's something very unique to St. Kate’s.