Akila Forde is a rising senior Economics Major with a Mathematics minor at Howard University from Queens, New York. Akila lived most of her life on the island of Barbados which exposed her to the economic disparities that exist among different people, inciting her passion for the subject. Akila is a member of the Omicron Delta Epsilon International Economics honor society and the Howard University Women’s Flag Football Team. Akila participated in the American Economic Association Summer Program 2016, which influenced her plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Economics.