Rachel Jordan decided to come to UMass Lowell before she ever visited the campus 鈥� in large part because the chair of the Economics Department was Prof. Monica Galizzi.

鈥淚 had already visited all of the other schools I鈥檇 applied to, and nothing about them really stood out for me,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen I saw that the chair of the department at UMass Lowell was a woman, I was like, 鈥榃ow! That鈥檚 cool.鈥欌��

Shortly afterward, Jordan came to a campus event for admitted students and spoke with Galizzi in person. She says their conversation only confirmed her choice.

鈥淪he made a lasting impression on me,鈥� Jordan says. 鈥淪he said she would be happy to answer any questions I had about the department and help me to choose a school, even if it ended up not being UMass Lowell, because there are so few women going into economics.鈥�

Jordan had fallen in love with economics during a class at Lynn Classical High School. She applied early action to UMass Lowell and was accepted to the university and the Honors College. And she was offered a financial aid package that was, well 鈥� economical.聽

She also fell in love with what she saw of the UML campus and Lowell online, because it reminded her of her hometown, Lynn, Mass.

鈥淚 had been Googling pictures of Lowell and people working at the school,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very diverse, like Lynn, and you have all the old mill buildings. So I was like, 鈥楾his is my second home!鈥欌�澛� 聽聽

Since arriving on campus, Jordan has added minors in Spanish and finance. She鈥檚 joined the Economics Club and the Federal Reserve Challenge team, which spends months doing intensive research and preparation before the annual competition.聽

She鈥檚 also broadened her education through study abroad, first as a sophomore, studying poverty and conservation at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences in Germany, and then as a junior, as part of an Honors College study abroad program in Cuba over winter break.

鈥淭he people in Cuba are some of the nicest people I鈥檝e ever met. And the food was great because it was all homemade,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t definitely was the best thing I鈥檝e done in college, hands down.鈥�

Now, Jordan is a member of the Women in Economics club, started by Asst. Prof. Kelly Hellman with support from Galizzi. Jordan says it鈥檚 great for women students to have a place to talk about their experiences, because women are underrepresented in economics.

Thanks to the Career & Co-op Center,聽which invited Jordan to tour Liberty Mutual Insurance in Boston, she applied for and got a paid summer internship doing data analytics for the company鈥檚 telematics program, which uses data collection devices to monitor people鈥檚 driving habits and set their insurance rates.聽

Upon successful completion of the internship, she can apply to Liberty Mutual鈥檚 Analytics Development Program, a series of three, paid, three-month internships in different departments that would prepare her for a full-time job with the company.

Before she does that, she will complete her last three classes and her honors thesis on the changing demographics of the U.S. workforce, advised by Asst. Prof. Brendan Epstein, a former senior economist for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C. (He also advises the Fed Challenge team.)

鈥淭he professors here have been absolutely amazing,鈥� Jordan says. 鈥淚鈥檝e only had good experiences.鈥�