Small University, Big Impact: Maisie Bandel-Ramirez’s Mission to Redefine Innovation & Leadership

Small University

Maisie Bandel-Ramirez, an Economics and Political Science student at SOU, had a very clear plan for her future. She narrowed her college search to four-year schools in Oregon that offered both an economics program and a wrestling team. Her criteria were specific, but during an athletic visit to SOU, she discovered the campus, and it felt like her home in the Columbia River Gorge. “It all clicked for me when I visited campus,” she says. “I could see myself here, studying and building something real.” The familiarity of the landscape solidified her decision, making SOU feel like the right choice.

For Maisie, she credits an AP History teacher in high school for sparking her interest in economics by teaching her to look at issues from all different perspectives. Maisie says, “I love looking at big questions from all angles. Economics blends people and money and policy — it feels like engineering for communities.”