MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — Fresh out of Middlebury, Andrew Locke ’11 was working as an economics consultant in Boston for a couple of years when he decided to pursue a radical new direction. The former economics and neuroscience major took a job as a research manager at Harvard University, supervising three offices in Chennai, India that are testing economic development policies. His day-to-day life in southern India’s largest city puts him in touch with rickshaw pullers, flower stringers, fishermen, and rag pickers.

"I work here because there are a billion people on the planet who don’t have the means, the resources to pursue a life of opportunity,” says Locke. "I’m here because I want to supply both myself and the people around me with the tools they need to fight these issues properly and effectively. These projects and this system of looking at problems allow an objective evaluation of what works and what doesn’t, and that’s absolutely key if you’re going to find the solution."

This video is part of a series exploring various ways in which young Middlebury alumni are applying their liberal arts backgrounds toward solving pressing global issues.