2008 Woodie Awards
Professor of the Week
The economics of teaching
Susan Marsland
Issue date: 6/16/08 Section: Features
Judy West enters the classroom with a smile exclaiming how much she loves economics. With her are the latest financial reports accompanied by the Wall Street Journal. West loves to share and apply what students are learning to real life.
West, an economics instructor at De Anza College, was born in Minneapolis.
She attended Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she received a large scholarship and grant that helped make her education possible.
West planned to enter the medical field to become a doctor but decided not to pursue this after volunteering in a hospital and feeling queasy.
When she took an economics class as a freshman, she was hooked and found her vocation. In her third year of college she had the opportunity to study at the prestigious London School of Economics.
West was one of only two students chosen by Wellesley to study that year at LSE. West was ready for this challenge.
"Had I gone to LSE as a freshman, I think I would have sunk rather than been able to swim," she says.
When West attended LSE, males were the majority, but today there is a more balanced representation.
She also enjoyed other subjects including history, math and philosophy.
West worked as an oil trader for Sun Oil Company for four years.
"Being a trader is a bit like being paid to be a professional gambler," she says.
She grew tired of the buying and selling of oil cargoes and futures and applied to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania to major in finance.
Her next job landed her on a merger team for Conrail, which is a freight railroad company. Conrail faced competition from trucks and the interstate highway system and was later sold to two companies.
West was offered jobs at both companies but decided to take a severance package. At that time, both she and her husband, John, were unemployed but John soon found a job in California and was westward bound.
West decided to go back to her first love, economics, and pursue teaching.
"I love economics, I love teaching and I enjoy working with the students. Plus, De Anza is walking distance from my home."
West admires Winston Churchill's wit, especially the quote, "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."
Susan Marsland is a freelance reporter for La Voz.
West, an economics instructor at De Anza College, was born in Minneapolis.
She attended Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she received a large scholarship and grant that helped make her education possible.
West planned to enter the medical field to become a doctor but decided not to pursue this after volunteering in a hospital and feeling queasy.
When she took an economics class as a freshman, she was hooked and found her vocation. In her third year of college she had the opportunity to study at the prestigious London School of Economics.
West was one of only two students chosen by Wellesley to study that year at LSE. West was ready for this challenge.
"Had I gone to LSE as a freshman, I think I would have sunk rather than been able to swim," she says.
When West attended LSE, males were the majority, but today there is a more balanced representation.
She also enjoyed other subjects including history, math and philosophy.
West worked as an oil trader for Sun Oil Company for four years.
"Being a trader is a bit like being paid to be a professional gambler," she says.
She grew tired of the buying and selling of oil cargoes and futures and applied to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania to major in finance.
Her next job landed her on a merger team for Conrail, which is a freight railroad company. Conrail faced competition from trucks and the interstate highway system and was later sold to two companies.
West was offered jobs at both companies but decided to take a severance package. At that time, both she and her husband, John, were unemployed but John soon found a job in California and was westward bound.
West decided to go back to her first love, economics, and pursue teaching.
"I love economics, I love teaching and I enjoy working with the students. Plus, De Anza is walking distance from my home."
West admires Winston Churchill's wit, especially the quote, "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."
Susan Marsland is a freelance reporter for La Voz.
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