Economics degree will open doors

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University of Winnipeg student Bryan Hart can't think of a degree that will open up more opportunities for him than his split honors in economics and environmental studies.

"I came to the realization a lot of decisions are made based on economic principles. For example-the recent cutbacks in health care and almost all decisions in politics," he says about what got him interested in economics.

Hart was a math whiz during his high school years at the Norway House First Nation in northern Manitoba, he says and won the Professor Gordon Blake Memorial Scholarship during his first year of university for the highest economics marks out of a field of more than 200 students.

Throughout the four-year program he was always one of the top three students and plans to finish his honors degree in economics by December.

At 25, he became increasingly interest in the environment and in a specialized field of study knows as "sustainable development".

"There's lots of need for environmental assessments and planning-things such as should we build a power dam here or not-looking at the hidden costs and the environmental concerns."

Every business sector from governments to corporations will need experts in sustainable developments in future, he believes. Even his summer job as a teller at the Royal Bank has him thinking of how to apply his knowledge of sustained development to bank investments.

"A lot of projects which start up will be pretty much with borrowed money and I believe banks should take a type of stewardship approach to guard against being liable for anything."

A future job working on Aboriginal rights and treaties would interest him and he has plans to return to Norway House First Nation if possible as a planner or developer. The work could involve something as simple as building an arena and trying to resolve how much should be spent, he says. Or he could work on land claims or on controversial projects such as hydro dams where compensation is still owing to Natives.

"It's something I want to do for the First Nations but not something I have to decide on right here and now."