Husky 100 Profile: Hanna Lester (BS Econ '22)

Submitted by Madison Adams on

 The Husky 100 recognizes a select group of undergraduate and graduate students who are excelling academically and making an impact on our campus community. Being honored as one of the 100 awardees across the three UW campuses has been a highlight for Hanna Lester as she wrapped up her time as a Husky, graduating with a BS in Economics and BA in Environmental Studies in June 2022. We had the opportunity to sit down with Hanna and discuss her experience as an Econ major and the ways that our program has prepared her for tackling the complex issues our world is facing in her career. She had no idea what she wanted to study in college at first but knew that she enjoyed problem-solving and analysis. She found a way to connect this interest to her passion for conservation after taking an economics course during her first quarter at UW. Hanna further explored this by taking three of Professor Robert Halvorsen’s courses: Natural Resource Economics, Economics of the Environment, and Cost-Benefit Analysis. These classes put the intersections she was fascinated by at the forefront. Natural Resource Economics was a particularly exciting class for her, as it was the “first class that explicitly connected her two fields of interest in an exciting way and how those things inform each other.”  

Hanna’s Environmental Studies capstone project allowed her to use both sets of skills she gained from both degree programs. She interned at Seattle Public Utilities, analyzing their low-income water conservation program. The analytical thinking required in economics courses helped her work more effectively. “Econ...is an approach to problem-solving from all angles and a way to look at things from all angles. Even if you’re not explicitly doing an Econ position, those types of data analysis and pattern recognition skills are extremely valuable.”  

Hanna’s undergraduate experience was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Her first quarter of online learning was a major pivot, and the support of her instructors was invaluable. She took Intermediate Macroeconomics with Ph.D. student Luis Diego Granera Vega (‘22) at this time and mentioned how his patience and understanding was a game-changer for her class. Outside of the virtual classroom, she leaned on her community of fellow campus tour guides to remain connected to UW. Hanna served as the Student Director of the UW Campus Visit Program for the past two years, helping prospective students make one of their biggest decisions yet.  

Her advice for current or prospective Economics majors? “Take time to educate yourself on the limits to economics as a framework to analyzing problems. It’s certainly super useful, but like all sciences, it has its limitations and stipulations. Especially when looking at angles of social equity, long-term sustainability, amplifying voices of marginalized people, I think that it’s important that we give these concepts and ideas the respect that they deserve but at the same time acknowledging that they’re not entirely inclusive...and there hasn’t been a ton of room for the inclusion of other voices. It’s somewhat our duty as economists but also as students and academics to be very purposeful of how we question things, what sources we listen to...just being very intentional about how we digest information and how we use it.” 

The Department of Economics is thrilled for Hanna, and we wish her all the best on her future endeavors! 

News Topic
Share