Photo: Ben Palmquist
Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) undergraduate research assistant and senior Economics major Ben Palmquist is one of the student presenters from the three universities (UMD, the College of St. Scholastica, and the University of Wisconsin Superior) who will take the stage before keynote speaker, Ron Wirtz. Wirtz is the regional outreach director with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, who will present on the topic of current business conditions and the role of labor force in future economic growth.
The REIF was built on the premise of bringing current economic trends to the community and has always featured university students as presenters of those trends since its inception in 2014.
Additionally, this in-person REIF brings back the well-received student poster session where attendees can visit with university students about the students’ high-caliber research projects. A list of LSBE students who are participating is noted below.
Join us on April 5 from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.
“We always ask our graduating research assistants what the best part of working at the BBER has been, said Monica Haynes BBER director. "For those who have the opportunity to present at the REIF, nearly all of them say that the experience ranks as one of the best parts of their academic careers. It combines research, data visualization, public speaking, and professional networking. All in one project!”
Palmquist has been diligently preparing his presentation of economic indicators for the past few weeks.
“Getting to dig this deeply into the regional data and put together something I’m proud to share has been a deeply rewarding experience,” he said.
“However, the best part of working on the REIF presentation has also been the most challenging, which has been the freedom. It’s been liberating and interesting to really dive into data that’s relevant to the REIF. But it’s been easy to fall down rabbit holes and find more data that ultimately isn’t being used in the final presentation, even though it seemed promising. Having to navigate that challenge has been a good learning experience.
“The reason it’s been so interesting to me is mostly because of how relevant it is to where I live. Learning about the gross domestic product of a metropolitan statistical area in and of itself could be a little dry, but when you have the context of living in that area, the data kind of comes to life in a fun way.
“I’m looking forward to presenting at the REIF. Public speaking has never been too stressful to me, but this will be the most people I’ve ever spoken to at once! It’s a new step for me, but a great opportunity that I’m thankful to have.”
Palmquist has been a BBER research assistant since May of 2021 and has worked on a variety of projects. He will be graduating this spring and notes that the BBER and presenting at the REIF are valuable experiences.
“The REIF presentation is really the culmination of everything I’ve learned and worked on during my time at the BBER. Research, data crunching, data visualization, and working closely with others to make a final product to be proud of are all things I learned at the BBER that I will take further.
“My experience at the BBER ended up being more beneficial and more fun than I ever would have guessed. It’s a great little group of people that I’ve been happy to count myself as one of for the past 10 months.
“After graduation, I’ll be staying in Duluth. I’ve been working with the marketing and consulting firm Giant Voices as a digital strategist, doing work very similar to what I have been doing at the BBER. I hope to continue with Giant Voices in the future"
More details about the coming REIF and the link to register can be found on the National Bank of Commerce website.
Students who will be presenting at the poster session for LSBE are listed below.
Student Name(s) Project Title
Benjamin Patt A Guide to Environmental, Social and Governance Investing for Faculty and Students
Aidan Kray Effects of Minimum Wage on Poverty Levels
Abbey Sweetman Looking at Resilience with a New Eye: A Configurational Approach
Anna Burggraff, Reducing Opioid Prescriptions
Grace Henriksen,
Maddie Moore,
Jacob Wojtowicz
Tayler Tollers Marketing Plan for a Special Game Day: UMD Men's Hockey
Brandon Fredricksen Supply Chain Disturbances and the Impact on Demand
Note – The BBER is a Labovitz School of Business and Economics (LSBE) research entity at UMD.