Luke Fore, a graduate student in the M.S. in Economics program, received a second place award and $400 cash prize in the 15th annual Graduate Research Symposium hosted at UNC Charlotte’s Atkins Library in April.
Fore presented in the Health and Social Sciences research category competing against research papers authored by graduate students from different North Carolina universities.
Fore presented his master’s thesis research titled “The Effect of Sporting Events on Firm-Level Economic Activity in Uptown Charlotte.”
In describing the research, Fore said, “The intent of this paper is to investigate the relationship between sporting events in Charlotte, N.C., and local economic activity. City governments are generally proponents of subsidizing sporting events and venues because of the belief that these events always increase economic activity.” His research investigates the impact on the revenue stream of a single firm when the Panthers and Hornets have a game at home and away. The main takeaway of the research is that when a sporting event occurs, the result is not as simple as an economic spike, he says. Some sporting events may increase economic activity, while others may hurt businesses. The assumption that sporting events are always good for the local economy is not realistic.
Originally from Asheville, N.C., Fore did not take the traditional path into higher education. Being a non-traditional student is something that he attributes to his motivation and academic success. After high school, he worked full-time and attended AB-tech community college. At the age of 23, he decided to change career paths and enrolled as an undergraduate at UNC Charlotte, majoring in economics with a double minor in mathematics and statistics. Taking advantage of the accelerated graduate program, Fore began taking graduate classes his senior year in preparation to move right into graduate school. His academic success continued in graduate school where he became a graduate student ambassador and graduate assistant in the Department of Economics. He will walk across the stage and accept his graduate diploma this May.
Before graduation, Fore accepted a highly competitive position with Bank of America in their Quantitative Management Associate Program. Fore received the initial interview using the campus resource Hire-A-Niner. After receiving a call back, the second round of interviews involved preparing a case study and attending an all-day event at Bank of America. In what Luke described as a challenging process, he made the final cut. The position is a two-year rotational program focused on risk management and applying quantitative skills to specific financial challenges.