 George Mason University is the only school I applied to, to go to graduate school. And so for me, it was George Mason or bust. My name is Christopher Coyne, and I am a professor in the Department of Economics at George Mason University. I'm also the F.A. Harper Professor of Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and the Associate Director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center. I grew up in Northern New Jersey, right outside New York City, and so when I was deciding where to go for my undergraduate education, I focused primarily in that region, and I ended up going to Manhattan College, which is located in Riverdale, New York, for my undergraduate education. And my junior year, my third year in Manhattan, I happened to meet Peter Becky. Peter Becky had been a professor at New York University. I didn't know him then. He came to Manhattan College for a year, and then moved to George Mason University, where he remains today as my colleague. And during that third year, I took two classes with Pete, and it completely changed my life. He introduced me to economics in a way that I had never experienced it before. He demonstrated the relevance of economics for understanding the world, for improving human wellbeing, and for addressing some of the most pressing issues in the world, and it truly inspired me. And so after Pete left, I completed my degree. I worked in finance in New York City for two years, and then I decided to pursue a PhD in order to become a researcher and scholar. And because of that experience with Pete, he was the only person I wanted to work with as a mentor, and George Mason University is the only school I applied to, to go to graduate school. And so it was, for me, it was George Mason or Bust. I was fortunate enough to get accepted to the program, and I joined the graduate program in 2001, and I worked closely with Pete throughout my graduate education. But the other professor that had a great impact on me was Tyler Cowan. And so by chance, I was assigned to be Tyler's research assistant, starting in my first year at George Mason, and I remained his research assistant for three years. And in that role, I got to be around him on a regular basis. In addition to learning from him in the formal classroom setting, I also got to have regular conversations with him. I got to observe how he approached engaging in scholarship, how he approached engaging in learning, how he approached engaging the public as a writer and as a speaker. And the combination of that experience, combined with Pete Beckie's mentoring throughout graduate school and the opportunities he created, really created a wonderful foundation for me to be successful in graduate school and beyond.