2020 Graduate Student Teaching Award Recipient: Lusi Xie

Lusi Xie, from China, is one of the Faculty of Graduate Research and Studies, Teaching Assistant Award recipients for 2020. She is in the pursuit of her PhD in Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology

I always want to work on and make impacts on addressing issues related to natural resources and the environment because I used to volunteer in environmental non-profit organizations. I got interested in applied economics when I studied economics in a business school during my undergraduate. Since my masters, I switched to agricultural and resource economics because I can apply economics to address environmental issues.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

For work, I see myself as a person who contributes to society by addressing environmental problems, from conducting economics research to teaching economics.
For life, I see myself as a daughter, a wife and a mom who takes good care of her family. I will still be very passionate about life and have many hobbies (e.g. music, climbing, photography).

Name a book that you would assign as recommended reading to students?

Mastering 'Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect by Joshua D. Angrist and Jörn-Steffen Pischke
It is the most anecdotal econometrics book I have ever read. Almost all econometrics textbooks have math notations and the usual pathway for students to learn econometrics starts from basic statistics. However, Mastering 'Metrics guides readers to think about econometrics from a high level in a non-technical manner using everyday examples.

What skill would you consider to be most essential for humanity?

Love. Love oneself so that one would have strong desire to survive in a bad time and appreciate life in a good time; love others so that one would care for family, friends, and even strangers; love the world so that one would try to do no harm to nature; love the knowledge so that one would keep learning…The list can go on and on.

Who or what on campus has made an impact on your UAlberta success?

My supervisor Dr. Vic Adamowicz has the biggest impact on my PhD journey. This journey of research and teaching would not have been this enjoyable without Vic's guidance.
(I would not say something about "success" because I think everyone has their own definition.)