Wednesday, September 9, 2015 // The Statement
6B
Professor Profile: Ed Cho
by Natalie Gadbois, Deputy Statement Editor
E
ach year, as the echoes of Welcome Week
parties fade and the Ulrich’s line veers dan-
gerously out the door, hundreds of students
face the same great white whale — Economics 102.
Famous at the University for its rigor and the com-
petitive nature of its students, this class is a hall-
mark of undergraduate life at the “U.”
This year, there is one more person entering the
hallowed ground of Lorch Hall — Econ 102’s newest
lecturer, Edward Cho. Cho began at the University
last year teaching 300- and 400-level econom-
ics courses, and is willing to admit the prospect of
teaching to 370 students is a new challenge com-
pared to his past teaching experiences. At Wellesley
College the largest class he taught had 30 students.
“At first I was worried or fearful that the classes
would be too big, especially because I like to inter-
act with the students, but it hasn’t been a problem
at all.”
Cho’s path to Michigan is unconventional com-
pared to many others — he began his undergrad
career as a bio-engineer, before taking an econ
course and “feeling everything click.” Despite this
initial passion for economics, after graduate school
he pursued a career in consulting.
“You don’t actually know what you like and dis-
like until you do it, and all these conceptions of
what you think you want to do, once you get there
you realize it’s not what you thought it was.”
In consulting, Cho soon realized the rigorous
hours weren’t worth it for him.
“I saw people who were working in consulting,
and they were in their 40s and 50s, and still work-
ing 100 hours a week … So I decided it was time to go
back to what I loved to do.”
He returned to school at MIT, and taught for a
short while there as well as at Harvard, before
moving to Wellesley College in Massachusetts. At
Wellesley, he became close with a professor who he
says shaped his growth as an educator. The small
class sizes and faculty-to-student ratio at Wellesley
allowed him to develop a core tenet of his teaching
philosophy — connecting with his students, a skill
he has doubled upon since starting at the University.
“Students here like to engage, and I just have to
find a way to do it right,” he said, “The main chal-
lenge is keeping the interaction with students high.”
During his first year at the University, Cho strove
to make econ relevant to students — more than just
a class taken for a grade, but as an applicable skill
base.
Public Policy senior Harry Kammerman, who
took ECON 396, believes Cho’s philosophy pays off
in the classroom, saying, “He provides examples
that are relevant to current trends in financial mar-
kets, helping students apply what they’ve learned.”
One of Cho’s favorite teaching techniques is
introducing real-life examples into his lectures —
he will have his pet cat play the stock market to
explain the randomness of the success of stocks.
He understands the esoteric nature of the topics he
teaches, so he tries to make Econ relevant to his stu-
dents, pulling in current events and campus-related
examples.
“Teaching has no limit … There is knowing the
material, there is answering questions, being orga-
nized — I realized there were so many more dimen-
sions to teaching.”
Perhaps what is most unique about Cho is his real
passion for teaching — he isn’t research-focused or
gunning for tenure, but loves engaging with stu-
dents.
“It’s a career I enjoy,” Cho said. “I sometimes ask
myself, ‘Would I switch jobs with anyone? Would I
switch careers?’ But I think the answer almost inev-
itably is no … With Economics you can continue to
learn, and that’s the fun part.”
As of yesterday, 370 new students have met Cho.
He can’t wait to get to know each and every one of
them.
ANDREW COHEN/DAILY
YO, JOIN THE DAILY.
MEETINGS SEPT. 13, 14, 17, AND 20: 7PM, 420 MAYNARD