Think Tank Summit for Gordon Business Students

The American Enterprise Institute—one of the largest think tanks in Washington, D.C.—hosted select Gordon students at two recent summits. The Values and Capitalism Conference invited student leaders from Christian colleges across the country, including Gordon’s AEI Executive Council members (Chan Mi Kim ’16, Cassie Wetzell ’16, India Boland ’16 and Paul Crookston ’16). In addition, a number of Gordon students who are in D.C. this fall for off-campus study in the American Studies Program attended the conference, as did Gordon economics professor Dr. Stephen Smith, the advisor to Gordon's AEI student chapter. Chan Mi and Cassie also attended the AEI Executive Council Leadership Conference, along with fellow AEI chapter chairs and managing directors at 76 colleges around the country—including Harvard, Princeton and Yale. Speakers at the conference included Peter Greer, president and CEO of HOPE International; Michael Matheson Miller, research fellow at the Acton Institute and the director and producer of the documentary film Poverty, Inc.; and Reihan Salam, executive editor and institute policy fellow at National Review. In addition to attending lectures and networking with attendees and speakers, Gordon took home first place in a live elevator pitch competition at the AEI leadership conference. Chan Mi was chosen to present a solo one-minute pitch on a randomly selected topic, with only 25 minutes to prepare with her small group of co-participants. Her topic: poverty. And her pitch—drawn from her own personal experience advocating for a public policy focus on incentivizing entrepreneurs to invest in developing nations—earned the top spot in the judges’ eyes. Students also reconnected with recent Gordon graduates Kelly Chang-Fong ’15, who has begun her career in a highly sought after role with AEI, and Austin Drukker ’15, who works for the Brookings Institution, the largest think tank in Washington, D.C. The American Enterprise Institute is home to some of America’s most renowned economists, legal scholars, political and social scientists, and foreign policy specialists. AEI conducts original research on the world economy, U.S. foreign policy and international security, and domestic political and social issues. Pictured above (back row, L to R) are Dr. Stephen Smith, Austin Drukker ’15, Andrew Fiedler ’16, India Boland ’16, Eric Hensel ’16, Paul Crookston ’16; (front row, L to R) Chan Mi Kim ’16, Cassie Wetzell ’16, Jeffrey Goss ’16.