At BYU, I have studied social entrepreneurship, interviewed CEOs in venture investing, and even tried to start my own social venture. I have managed student consulting projects, run club operations, and worked on various consulting projects for Fortune-500 firms, at least in short bites of experience. What excites me is answering difficult questions: Why have traditional methods of poverty alleviation fallen short of their namesake, and how can we use profit incentive in our favor instead of seeing it as an enemy? How does the legal system protect or destroy economic growth? How can we strengthen families while maintaining autonomy and reducing dependence on band aid-style treatment?As I learned to love programming and econometrics, despite the toll they exact on beginners, the importance of rigorous data analysis couldn't have been clearer. However, numbers are just indicators of causal mechanisms that require careful observation and conversation to understand. I hope to combine both methods in my research in academia. Finally, data analysis yields no benefit to mankind if it cannot be understood by its audience--professionals and laymen alike. Hence my mastery of writing and presentation.