Poster Presentation at the SAEA (Abigail Burch, Lainey Deitrick, Sophia Ultes)

Author: Sophia Ultes | Major: Finance | Semester: Spring 2022

My name is Sophia Ultes and I am currently a Junior at the University of Arkansas. I am majoring in Finance and have a double minor in Economics and International Economic Development. Last summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Mauritius and conduct research for my thesis. My advisor is Dr. Farmer, and she works in the Economics department at Walton. I am currently in my second semester working on this research project and will be finished with my thesis by the end of spring 2023.

While I was in Mauritius, I administered in person surveys to locals from 18 different zip codes on the island. The first survey that my team and I conducted was regarding food security pre and post pandemic. This survey was intended to determine how the pandemic affected people’s ability to purchase food during the pandemic. The second survey that we conducted concerned dairy consumption and willingness to pay for fresh milk. Mauritius does not have an official dairy industry, so the purpose of this survey was to determine if there is a market for fresh milk. My team and I administered over 800 surveys during the two months that we were in Mauritius.

I found out about this research project because Dr. Farmer came into my macroeconomics class sophomore year and talked about the opportunity. The topic caught my attention, and I reached out to get more information. Dr. Farmer oversees several international internships/ research opportunities. This was a great way for me to get international experience as well as a project to write my thesis over. I was able to learn a lot about patience and adaptability by going abroad. Furthermore, I saw a tremendous difference in my communication skills and confidence after administering in-person surveys to strangers. The language barrier was a challenge that I had to overcome, but we had several students from the University of Mauritius with us to help translate. Agricultural economics was a new topic to me before I conducted this research in Mauritius. However, I have learned so much about the field of study and have developed a new passion for development work.

Dr. Farmer has been an incredible thesis mentor. She came and checked on us in Mauritius to see how our research was coming along and is always willing to help. Dr. Farmer has a lot of international experience and has taught me a lot about looking at the world from different perspectives. I would recommend Dr. Farmer to anyone looking for a hands-on thesis project and a mentor that truly cares about her students’ success.

In early February, I had the opportunity to travel to Oklahoma City and attend the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Conference to present my research. I was able to present “The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Food Security in Mauritius”, where I talked about my experience in Mauritius conducting in person surveys. My poster described the research project and included our results. I did not present the poster regarding dairy consumption and the willingness to pay for fresh milk as the data analysis for that survey is not yet complete.

By participating in this research project, I was able to find something I am truly passionate about and start thinking about my next steps. As of right now, I plan on pursuing a double master’s degree in Agricultural Economics and Rural Development post grad through the U of A. I am thankful for all of the opportunities that have been presented to me and for the Honors College for making it all possible.