Her Story
About Whitney
Whitney Bross is a Lecturer of Economics at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. She began working in academia around 2015 after completing her PhD in economics at Tulane University in New Orleans. Prior to her doctoral studies, she earned an undergraduate degree from Ball State University, majoring in international business with a focus on economics, and served as a research assistant at the Center for Business and Economic Research. During her PhD program, she worked with the Education Research Alliance, consistent with her research focus on the economics of education. Before joining Butler, Bross worked for the state government. She values the schedule flexibility of her academic position, which supports balancing her career with family life and two young children. Bross attributes her success to being persistent, curious, overly friendly and extroverted, and genuine. She places the highest value on relationships, prioritizing family above all while also building connections with students and colleagues. Her advice to young people entering the field is to pursue what they are naturally drawn toward rather than trying to mold themselves to external expectations.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Whitney
01What do you attribute your success to?
My husband would say I am annoyingly persistent. I like to also think that it's my curiosity, and I am overly friendly and extroverted. I have a hard time filtering myself, so what you see is sort of what you get. The genuineness has helped me not fall into any traps that weren't good for me.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The advice I give all young people right now is to not mold yourself into what you think the world wants right now, and instead, just pursue what you're naturally drawn towards and feel gifted at. What's uniquely you that you bring to the world. I strongly believe that if we all just do our best to be the best versions of ourselves, it scales up to a better general equilibrium.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I value relationships the most. In my personal life, I value my family, that comes first, always. Then friends, I like to maintain close relationships with people. At work, I love making new relationships with students, I like to get to know them and help them kind of navigate a really tough part of life. I have so many really interesting, fun coworkers.
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