Levina Setiono dreams of founding her own palm oil farm in Surabaya, Indonesia, where she grew up. Setiono said a double major in economics and international agricultural development will help her learn deeply about the economic risks and benefits involved in launching her own business venture.
“I decided to double major in agriculture and economics because both majors support each other,” she said. “I can’t just study agriculture and development without knowing how to market them, and I can’t study economics without knowing the core specialization I want to do.”
Economics is everywhere. In any career, it will be very helpful for you to understand a little bit of what’s going on in the business world.
Setiono has already developed her business acumen by watching her parents grow their own businesses, including a shrimp farm and a construction company. After earning a graduate degree, she plans to join the family businesses. “I watched my parents expand their business to supply their own materials, build houses with their own workers, and market the houses themselves,” she said. “However, I feel like some of their marketing strategies are out of date. Hence, besides helping them run the company, I want to expand their marketing ideas.”
Setiono said she always planned to attend university in the U.S., and chose UC Davis for its stellar programs and the university’s small-town setting. “UC Davis is a nice place to study — not so crowded, but not far away from big cities like San Francisco and Sacramento. People in Davis are also friendly, and it’s fun to see the different cultures integrated in one place.”
Best advice: Find your squad
When I first got to UC Davis, I didn’t have many friends. I found it really helpful to join a lot of clubs and now Davis feels like a second home. My friends have been so helpful to me. They helped me to study and took me to places I haven’t been before. Travelling with my friends has opened my eyes to the outside world.
Favorite class: ECN 190 (Economics of International Immigration)
I learned about immigration economics in this class and it opened my eyes about the struggles of immigrating. It was interesting to see the developments of migration, along with the changes of immigration laws.