The Halcyon Launchpad Series: Dean, G10

We sat down with three of our students who have officially secured exciting professional opportunities starting in the coming months. While their career paths vary—spanning economics, technology, and journalism—each student shared a common drive to turn their academic passions into real-world impact.

Next up in The Halcyon Launchpad Series is Grade 10 student Dean, who recently secured a research assistantship with a PhD candidate at Kings who works for the Bank of England on economic issues.

Dean’s research assistantship was born from his interest in economics and diligent work facilitating outreach to numerous professors and PhD candidates. Dean scoured university websites, documenting his outreach to universities in an Excel spreadsheet. In many cases, he cold emailed academic experts, receiving both a yes and and a no response. 

When discussing what he is most excited for, Dean expressed an eagerness to gain firsthand experience in the field of economics. He has envisioned a career in this industry for some time, and is looking forward to the opportunity to immerse himself in the day-to-day work. While Dean expressed he has some nerves about how he will get on with the work, he is excited to learn from an experienced PhD candidate and determine if this career path truly aligns with his interests and long-term goals. This experience is sure to paint a clearer picture on what he wants to pursue when the time comes for him to attend university or officially enter the workplace.

Reflecting on his time at Halcyon, Dean expressed gratitude for the foundational research skills he developed in the classroom through various research assignments, academic papers, and his personal project. Before joining the Halcyon community, he had not engaged in formal, research-based assignments; consequently, he credits his schoolwork and teachers with helping him build the discipline to tackle such challenging, yet rewarding, projects. The skills developed through taking on these assignments helped him gain the confidence to cold email PhD candidates.

As for advice to his future students who may be interested in pursuing an opportunity like this is to not overthink it. Send the emails, make the outreach, have the conversations. Worst case you get a no, but the best case, like Dean, you can truly get something out of it.  

Wishing Dean all the best in his research assistantship!