Biruktawit is a third year at the University of Virginia studying Economics and Foreign Affairs. Currently, she works as a research assistant at the UVA Darden School of Business. She is originally from Ethiopia and moved to the U.S. with her family about 9 years ago for better opportunities and a better life. This sparked her interest in developmental economics to better understand what leads some countries to be rich while some are not. After she completes her undergraduate degree, she intends to pursue her PhD in Economics with a focus on developmental and education economics.