Students enrolled in the Early College Experience (ECE) Economics courses at Trumbull High School visited the Stamford campus on Thursday, March 26, 2026. Forty-five students and three ECE Economics instructors arrived in the early morning hours to take part in the extensive “Day at UConn Stamford” event. Many of those students are accepted to the University of Connecticut and plan to enroll in the Fall.
Stamford Campus Dean, Dr. Jennifer E. Orlikoff, welcomed the group and set them up for an activity-packed day, which included the campus tour, career panel discussion, and attendance of an Economics class.
Career panel was moderated by Tara Malone, Director of the Center for Career Development at Stamford. Three Economics majors shared their experience of obtaining internships and jobs with the help of Career Fairs and Career Center events and services. The students, Liz Maia (’26), Kothan Nieves-Orama (’27), and Alexys Williams (’27), talked about the applicability of the Economics major to the broad job market. They answered high school students’ questions about the strategies to be employed at the undergraduate level to secure a job upon graduation. “It is not too early to engage in your career exploration and utilize many resources available on campus to aid you in this endeavor” was the overall message.
Students attended Dr. Knoblauch’s “Industrial Organization” class and Dr. Smirnova’s “Principles of Macroeconomics” class. Both classes were engaging and interactive. Trumbull students were able to join forces with UConn students on various tasks and learn not only the economics material, but also teamwork and communication skills. These competencies are at the heart of Economics students’ preparation for successful careers. Trumbull school Economics instructors, Mr. Brian Sprinsteen, Mr. Martin McGrath, and Mr. Gregg Basbagill, commented that UConn students were leading the collaborative work during the exercises and were enthusiastically mentoring high schoolers.
Events like this support the outreach mission of the University and promote cooperative spirit between UConn and the local community.
Professor Prakash’s paper was followed by a presentation by Professor Natalia Smirnova (a UConn Economics Ph.D.) entitled “Oligarchs and Ivans: A Changing Russian Economy 1990-2020” in which Professor Smirnova provided both background and predictions for the modern Russian Economy including a look forward.
Professor Oskar R. Harmon, who is doing research and teaching about sports economics, presented an exciting session entitled “Sports Economics and Principals of Economics” over lunch. Professor Harmon was followed on the program by Mr. Paul Conant explaining the Kyoto Treaty to the teachers in a session titled “Kyoto and Beyond.”
Economics Coordinator and Emeritus Professor of Economics Bill Alpert capped off the day with his discussion “Income Distribution: What’s the Matter?”