Navigating Faith and Finance
Meet economics major Sarvodaya Singh.
Hometown: Kathmandu, Nepal
Thesis adviser: Denise Hare [economics]
Thesis: “Navigating the intersection of Faith and Finance: The role of Islamic Finance in shaping FDI decisions in Muslim majority countries”
What’s it about: When faith and finance do intersect, who is affected? My thesis looks at how Islamic financial principles affect where and how Muslim majority countries invest their money.
What’s it really about: Does god control where some people’s money is spent?
In high school: I was very similar to how I have been in college, just a big yapper obsessed with soccer, food, and gossip, though I’ve been told I was more mean which I’m going to blame on the teen age.
Influential professor: Fathimath Musthaq [political science]. I had some of my most spirited discussions in her 3-hour-long political finance courses and her classes really built my understanding of the global financial market and why it works (and doesn’t).
Cool stuff: I was primarily involved with two clubs. The first was the Reed Finance and Investment Club which needed a major rebuild at the start of the year. Being able to build a club back up to a point where the meetings we were having were engaging, intelligent, intentional, and always filled with treats (literally) is something I am proud of. The second was Reed Soccer Club (Reed FC) where I met two of my best friends, Walker and Asher, and we shared more than just some tackles on the field, COYG eh?
More cool stuff: I learned about agriculture and farming. I will not shut up about agriculture; there is something so deeply profound about irrigation methods and why we need to make sure land is used sustainably. I was able to work with the Oregon Agricultural Trust over an extended period of time and learned so much about agricultural supply chains, the importance of farming and how to make beer.
Influential Book: Million Dollar Whale, you have to read it to get a better understanding of how easily one man was able to scam multiple financial institutions and governments.
Concept that blew my mind: How a dollar is not a dollar and learning about the social meaning of money and special monies with Prof. Yalçın Özka [sociology] in my SOC 352 class.
How Reed changed me: I’ve been humbled—and rightfully so. I will always be grateful to Reed College for that.
Help along the way? Financial aid allowed me to come to Reed all the way from Nepal which by itself is a pretty big step. I’m not sure that I can just shout out one person that made it possible but to everyone from the financial aid office to admissions to CLBR and the donors that make financial aid viable, I am full of appreciation and gratitude to all of you.
Other awards: I received the summer internship award, the climate change research and education fellowship and the President’s Summer Fellowship.
What’s next? I’m moving up to Seattle to work in finance and definitely want to head to a post-graduate program at some point but beyond that let’s see.
Tags: Academics, Students, Thesis, What is a Reedie?