Current Position: Associate, Antitrust & Competition Economics Practice, Charles River Associates
Past: Morgan Stanley, Media Trackers Colorado
Education: Boston College
Julia Gorman is currently pursuing a career in economic consulting in Boston. As a recent college graduate, she participated in the 2015 Political Studies Program, and later returned to Hertog as a young professional for the “Great Figures of the 20th Century” Weekend Seminars.
HOW DID YOU FIRST HEAR ABOUT THE HERTOG FOUNDATION? WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO APPLY?
I heard about the Political Studies Program through professors in Boston College’s Political Science Department. It struck me that that despite varying political beliefs and principles, each spoke highly of the Program. One professor said that the students in seminars at Hertog are “among the best of the best.” Such high praise paired with the possibility of an intensive study of politics and political theory motivated me to apply.
WHAT STICKS OUT IN YOUR MEMORY ABOUT YOUR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE WITH HERTOG PROGRAMS?
I was impressed by the mixture of ideas and activities at the Political Studies Program. We studied materials ranging from the Students for a Democratic Society’s Port Huron Statement to Augustine’s City of God with outstanding professors and visiting lecturers. Justice Scalia taught us about philosophy applied to law, and Marine Corps General James Mattis explained that duty often supersedes politics. We visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Gallery, we participated in a staff ride at Gettysburg, and we got to know one another and our nation’s capital while wandering the monuments. The Political Studies Program provided a wide-ranging education, much of which took place outside of the classroom.
DO YOU THINK HERTOG PROGRAMS ARE BENEFICIAL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE INTERESTED IN PUBLIC POLICY OR CONSULTING?
Yes. Aside from the network that Hertog offers, the Program provides a schooling in political philosophy and political history. Both are essential to public policy, since it orders human affairs. One cannot hope to craft good policy without asking big questions, understanding what government and politics are capable of, and more importantly, what they’re not capable of.
OVERALL, WHAT IS YOUR IMPRESSION OF HERTOG PROGRAMS?
They’re top-notch. Part of the reason they’re so good is that the Hertog Foundation’s educational mission is simply to form more thoughtful citizens. As a result, Hertog selects students who are bright, driven, and intellectually curious, but who possess a range of beliefs and pursuits. I have no doubt that some of the people I’ve studied with at Hertog will influence the civic, intellectual, and political life of the United States for the better.
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS? IN A SIMILAR JOB, OR EMBARKING ON SOMETHING DIFFERENT?
I hope I’ll end up at the intersection of economics and political theory. Each subject is interesting in its own right, but I think it’s important to blend the disciplines because economics provides a sanity check on policy-making, and political theory provides the tools with which to examine the normative assumptions of economics.