Minors: Mathematics and Philosophy

How did you find out about the University of Evansville?

Through my Brazilian friends that were applying to universities in the USA.

What made you decide on UE as your college choice?

I decided to come to UE because of the small class size, the huge international student community, the beautiful campus, the several study abroad opportunities, the generous scholarship, and the fact that it is liberal arts.

Tell us about your involvement on campus and any special opportunities or projects you have found through UE

Since my freshman year I tried to take advantage of all the interesting opportunities that UE offered. I was in the executive board of several organizations including Social Innovation Club, Run for Hera, and International Club (organizing the International Bazaar was a huge accomplishment). I couldn't find an organization on campus that created films, which is something I am very passionate about, so I founded the Film Club and we ended up producing a great one minute short film.

Apart from on-campus organizations, I was very fortunate to receive aid from AFB go to the Global Entrepreneurship Summer School in Munich, Germany, where my team ended up winning the pitching competition for the most promising project designed to solve the societal problem of consumption.

Instead of going to Harlaxton in my semester abroad, I decided to go somewhere completely different to what I was used. I ended up going to the University of Turku, in Finland, where I had a fantastic experience. While in my semester abroad, I also represented UE at the World Business Dialogue, in Cologne, Germany.

Last semester I was invited, along with 3 other changemaker students, to go to the Ashoka U Exchange in San Diego to represent UE, which was nominated as the new Ashoka changemaker campus.

Tell us about any involvement you may have had in the community. Do you feel you have directly impacted anyone’s life through your work as an Ace?

I had the opportunity to take two amazing ChangeLab classes: Neuromarketing and Alternative Energy. Both experiences involved real life work and impact. For neuromarketing we implemented eye-tracking and face-reading techniques to optimize Metronet's self-sign up online platform. Our suggestions were estimated to double the company's conversion rate and resulted in an increase of over $1M in additional sales revenue (in Fall 2017 alone).

In Alternative Energy, our group of students did energy assessments in several buildings in the community (including professors houses and the Diversity House on campus) and provided suggestions to reduce energy waste and increase efficiency, saving costs and contributing to help the environment.

What makes UE a special place?

UE is an incredible place because of the people. The diverse, open, and friendly student body; and the amazing faculty that is genuinely interested in your learning. UE allows and incentivizes you to explore several fields of study and provides amazing opportunities, from dozens of countries to choose from to study abroad to important Changemaking experiences that solve real life problems.

What excites you about your major, and how has UE helped you prepare for your future career?

I love Economics because I gain a better understanding on how the world works, why people make the decisions they do, and it provides me tools to have greater social impact in the future. I am very excited about Cognitive Science because it combines several areas such as psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and Artificial Intelligence to understand how the mind works and how and why humans behave the way they do.

The combination of both majors will fit in very well with my goal of getting an Economics PhD, since I will be focusing in Behavioral Economics, which is a mixture of psychology and economics.

Do you have anything else to share about your UE experience?

I also had the opportunity to be a Supplemental Instructor for Microeconomics and Macroeconomics classes, and from these two experiences I discovered a passion for teaching, which I might pursue for a period of my life (before becoming an entrepreneur). This semester I will be the Supplemental Instructor for Regression Analysis, which most students struggle (including me), but I look forward for the challenge.