'The A&S requirements were permission to keep learning'

Olivia Kim: Economics and History of Art & Visual Studies

5/15/2026

Olivia Kim

Economics and History of Art & Visual Studies
Titusville, N.J.

Why did you choose Cornell?

I chose Cornell because coming into college, I couldn't pick just one subject. I loved my math and science classes as much as I loved my history and English classes, and the college application process kept asking me to narrow down and specialize early on in a way that felt like I would have to give something up. But Cornell's distribution requirements, and the motto "Any Person, Any Study," meant that I didn't have to give anything up. I could pursue my double major in economics and art history and still take a German-language course on the history of East and West Germany, sit in on an introductory astronomy course, and learn how to analyze signs of linear enamel hypoplasia in my bioarchaeology class. I didn't see the distribution requirements as "requirements," but permission to keep learning for its own sake, which is what drew me to Cornell in the first place.

What Cornell memory do you treasure the most?

The Cornell memory I treasure the most didn't actually happen during the school year. The summer after my sophomore year, I stayed in Ithaca as an A&S Nexus Scholar, contributing to research supervised by Professor Alexandra Cirone alongside my fellow research assistants, Caroline and Tomas. It was my first real experience with academic research, and it shaped my decisions to keep seeking out research opportunities during my remaining time at Cornell.

But what made that summer distinct wasn't only the work. Ithaca in summer is a different place; quieter, unhurried and warm in a way that the last few weeks of the spring semester only hint at. Whenever we got a bit pigeon-holed with researching the probates of 19th-century widows in Georgia or reading about Citizens Assemblies, we could simply walk over to the Dairy Bar and eat ice cream outside to take a break.

What have you accomplished as a Cornell student that you are most proud of?

The work I'm most proud of as a Cornell student was my research experiences in the economics department. As a research assistant for Professor Amanda Agan, I worked with data on Clean Slate policies: legislation designed to automatically expunge eligible non-violent criminal records, with the goal of reducing the barriers ex-offenders face in employment, housing and social stigma. It was my first real introduction to the economics of crime, and this project played a significant role in developing my interest in applied microeconomics and public policy research, and in shaping how I think about how empirical economics can speak to real-world inequities. I also worked for the LDI Replication Lab at the ILR School, where I tested author replication packages submitted to the American Economic Association to verify empirical findings prior to publication. There is something meaningful about supporting that process, even in a small way, knowing that this careful verification work contributed to the integrity of published economics research.

If you were to offer advice to an incoming first-year student, what would you say?

Embrace your interests, even if they seem (at first) unrelated! I think what makes Cornell so special is that its liberal arts curriculum really gives you the opportunity to explore courses outside your major. And really be open-minded: we sometimes come in with a fixed notion of what we might study, but truly take advantage of your first year to explore the different departments here. Coming into college as an undecided student, it really wasn’t until taking intro microeconomics and intro art history that I discovered my passion for economics and art history.

What are your plans for next year?

I will be working at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. as a research assistant in their Economic Studies Program, specifically in the Retirement Security Project.

Every year, our faculty nominate graduating Arts & Sciences students to be featured as part of our Extraordinary Journeys series. Read more about the Class of 2026.