In high school, senior Cameron Blair would visit his history teacher Charles Apple after school to talk politics, economics and international issues. He described Mr. Apple as not only someone he could bounce ideas off of but also someone who gave him a space to explore his passions.
Today, Blair is an economics major — along with a major in politics and international affairs — heading into the world of public policy, and he could not be more thankful.
“[Mr. Apple is] really the one who introduced me to this field,” Blair said. “Ever since then, I’ve had this idea that I want to be at the intersection of economics and politics.”
Blair is specifically interested in how laws are crafted, why certain laws exist and how to use legislation to help people. However, he wasn’t sure how to translate that to an economics major until he got to know his professors at Wake Forest.
As a sophomore, Blair was a research assistant for Dr. Tina Dalton and his junior year for Professor Leah Lakdawala.
“Even though I haven’t taken one of [Dalton’s] classes since sophomore year, she and I still keep in touch,” Blair said. “Professor Lakdawala has also been a great resource for me and has ultimately become the advisor of my thesis.”
Lakdawala expressed her enjoyment of having Blair as a research assistant and supervising his thesis, which explores the market for higher education and whether elite private schools adjust their admission standards in response to competition from highly-ranked public schools.
“His thesis showcases his intellectual curiosity as well his skill in and dedication to economic research,” Lakdawala said. “I believe he is among the top students graduating as an economics major (if not overall at Wake [Forest]) this year.”
In addition to his academic proficiency, Lakdawala also highlighted Blair’s demeanor.
“[Blair] is [an] incredibly professional, conscientious and overall great guy,” Lakdawala said. “I just can’t say enough wonderful things about Blair!”
Heading into graduation, Blair expressed how the uncertainty outside Wake Forest’s campus can be hard to swallow.
“Life has been structured and rigid for the past four years,” Blair said. “Going out into the real world I won’t have that as much; it’s something I’m trying to figure out.”
Next year he will move to Washington D.C. to pursue economic consulting and work on a team that deals with the legal work that follows when companies merge. Blair mentioned that, when he was younger, he didn’t expect to be working in consulting and only learned of the opportunity early last year.
“Consulting is a smaller field, but after doing some research on it and talking to people, I think it could be a great route for me,” Blair said.
Blair is especially excited about how economic thought is changing, especially as it relates to politics. Heading into the antitrust field, he has found it incredibly interesting how different political parties are altering their views regarding trust-busting and anti-competitive policies.
His biggest takeaway from being an economics major at Wake Forest is that you’re always stronger as a team than by yourself. Blair explained that his most successful projects have been the result of a strong team, and when it came to the economics department at Wake Forest, he’s always had the opportunity to ask for help.
“If I need help writing code, thinking out something theoretically or even trying to figure out what classes to take, someone has always been there,” Blair said. “I’m super grateful.”
