Economics is a academic discipline that describes the world around us. While it can sometimes seem rather abstract or theoretical, we see the relevance of economics in everyday life right here in Springfield. Over the spring semester, students in the Honors Section of ECO 165 Principles of Microeconomics met with local entrepreneur and MSU Professor Lyle Foster to learn about his business Big Momma’s Coffee and Expresso Bar. Through our conversations and site visit, we saw how the concepts we were studying in class impact his business in the real world.

 

As a culminating course activity, teams of students conducted research analyzing different aspects of Big Momma’s business according to the economic concepts we’ve been studying in our course and made suggestions of areas the business might explore to continue in its success. This career-informed learning brings to life the academic concepts we study in class and helps prepare students to apply their academic knowledge in the real world.