Nothing better prepared Pablo Acosta (Ph.D. ’06, economics) for a career in international banking than his doctoral studies at the UI.
“Coming from faraway Argentina, I met people from all over the world for the first time, ate exotic food, admired their cultures and learned their complex histories,” says Acosta, who arrived in Champaign-Urbana in 2001 after earning his bachelor’s and master’s, both in economics, closer to home, in Buenos Aires. “And, of course, I miss the privilege of interacting with top-notch professors who have shaped what I’m now professionally.”
Acosta’s list of favorite campus stops includes Wohlers Hall, the Quad, the Illini Union, “the little surveying building, where we used to study, grade, and have our TA office hours.”
“And, of course, the occasional concerts and games at the Assembly Hall, where I watched Steven Tyler from Aerosmith from a breath’s distance. And the ice skating at the Armory building.
Off campus, he says, “my favorite remembrance is walking those Thursday nights from our shared house in William and State streets in Champaign, all the way to Green Street into the legendary White Horse bar, for our favorite fare of spicy chicken wings and Rolling Rock beer.
“And my second favorite spot: Courier Cafe in downtown Urbana, which I still think serve the best burgers in the whole world.”
