A double major in economics and mathematics means two thesis papers. Add co-directing the 5C Dance Company and serving on the board of the Scripps College Economics Society to her schedule, and it’s safe to say Taryn Ohashi ’13 has had a busy senior year.
Fortunately, her two disciplines were never far apart. “Scripps College always encouraged me to ask questions regarding structure, methodology, assumption, significance, and comprehension,” she says. “I was able to think about my topics from a point of view that was not purely mathematical, and was especially invested in them due to the economic and social costs.”
Ohashi’s math thesis improves upon a model of malaria intervention in an area with limited resources, and a current Harvey Mudd student will continue the research. “The possible implications of my research could potentially save lives,” she says. “Organizations and philanthropists use models like this to maximize their budgets and reduce the number of malaria cases in target areas.”
Her economics thesis is equally impressive. “I examine the existence and roles of state dependence and switching costs in the mass transition from MySpace to Facebook during 2007-2008,” she says. “Using a dataset compiling individual browsing behavior and a discrete multinomial logit model, I find precise, yet extremely small amounts of dependence for users of only MySpace, of only Facebook, and users of both MySpace and Facebook.” While lots of research has been done regarding switching costs in the brick and mortar setting with tangible products and services, Taryn explains, her work extends similar analysis to the relatively new, social networking industry.
The theses were inspired by Ohashi’s professors; she began the malaria research last summer at Harvey Mudd College under the supervision of mathematics Professor Susan Martonosi, and her social media analysis was an outgrowth of relationships forged in spring 2012 with Scripps economics professor Latika Chaudhary and Stanford Graduate School of Business marketing professor Wesley Hartmann.
“I was interested in the quantitative nature of Professor Hartmann’s work in marketing and this became the perfect opportunity for me to learn a new type of econometric model,” she says.
Taryn is quick to credit the economics department with encouraging her to always ask questions: “I would have barely skimmed the surface of my econ thesis topic were I not comfortable asking never-ending questions!”
This summer, Taryn begins work as research assistant at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington DC.
“I have met the most inquisitive, driven, and courageous women here and I will never forget their strength,” she adds. “I have been pushed as a student and as a person from day one, and my professors have evolved from academic advisors to true mentors and friends.”