Renan Santos
I got hooked on economics watching prices move in a video game. Now I study Finance and Quantitative Economics at FGCU, and I’m interested in understanding how markets, businesses, and economies work in the real world.
How I got into economics
My interest in economics and financial markets came from playing Ultimate Team, an online game mode in FIFA where players exchange cards in an open market. It was the best explanation of supply and demand I could have asked for.
What I noticed in that market: when many people listed the same card at once, like the dozen above, prices fell as sellers undercut each other. When a card became scarce or suddenly popular, prices jumped. I was watching supply and demand move prices in real time.
Where that curiosity took me
What started as curiosity about prices in a video game eventually became a broader interest in how markets and economies work. Today, I study Finance and Quantitative Economics at Florida Gulf Coast University, where I have become especially interested in financial markets, macroeconomics, and using data to understand real-world economic changes.
Outside the classroom, I work with regional economic research through FGCU's Regional Economic Research Institute and serve as president of the Brazilian Student Association. Those experiences have given me opportunities to apply what I learn in very different ways—from analyzing economic indicators to leading projects and working with people from different backgrounds. You can see more of that work on the Research and Leadership pages of this website.
What I'm looking for
I'm interested in building a career at the intersection of finance, economics, and markets. There is still a lot within that world that I want to experience firsthand, and I see that as a strength at this stage: I’m curious, intentional about learning, and interested in understanding where I can contribute most.
I’m especially drawn to opportunities where I can work with real financial or economic problems, learn from experienced professionals, and gradually take on more responsibility. That’s part of the reason I built this website: to collect some of the work, projects, and experiences that are shaping that direction.
What I’m building toward
Because I’m still early in my career, I’m trying to use this stage to build practical exposure alongside what I learn in class. I’m getting experience with the Bloomberg Terminal through coursework, planning to take the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam as I continue exploring different areas of the industry, and working through the CFA Institute Investment Foundations Certificate. Longer term, I’m interested in going further down the CFA path as my interests in markets, investment analysis, and finance become more defined.
I don’t see those credentials as an end by themselves. What matters to me is using them to become more comfortable with the tools, language, and ideas I’ll encounter in a professional setting. I want each new skill to make me a little more capable of understanding a problem, asking better questions, and contributing when I’m given the opportunity.
How I use AI
AI has become another part of how I build those skills. I use tools such as ChatGPT and Claude to work through unfamiliar concepts, test whether I actually understand something, troubleshoot Excel problems, improve my writing, and experiment with projects outside my normal coursework.
This website is one example. I used AI throughout the process to move from an idea to a working site, while deciding what I wanted it to say, how I wanted it structured, and what ultimately made the final version. I’m interested in continuing to learn where these tools can make me more productive without replacing the judgment and understanding I’m trying to develop myself.
Explore my work
Now that you know a little more about my background, what I’m working toward, and how I like to learn, I invite you to explore the experiences that have shaped me most. My Research section goes deeper into the economic work I’ve contributed to at RERI, while Leadership shows how I’ve grown through BRASA and the communities I’ve helped build.
Research at RERI
I joined Florida Gulf Coast University’s Regional Economic Research Institute as a Student Research Assistant in January 2026 and continued my work through the summer as a John Marshall Intern. Since then, I have contributed to projects ranging from recurring regional publications to longer-term economic research.
What I enjoy most about the work is the process of going from information to understanding. Depending on the project, that can mean organizing data, reviewing academic research, interpreting economic indicators, or figuring out how to communicate what the numbers do — and do not — tell us.
RERI studies and reports on Southwest Florida’s economy and produces research designed to make regional economic and demographic information accessible to businesses, community leaders, and other decision-makers.
Visit RERI →
Structural Decomposition Analysis of the Clean Water Economy
I am contributing to an ongoing research paper that uses Structural Decomposition Analysis (SDA) to study how and why the Clean Water Economy changes over time. My work includes building and reviewing the literature, organizing references through Overleaf and BibTeX, and helping develop the paper’s introduction and Clean Water Economy framework.
As the project progresses, I will continue working with the SDA framework to understand how changes in final demand, production structure, and supply-chain relationships contribute to economic activity across water-dependent industries.
Research in progressSelected Published Work
Alongside ongoing academic research, I contribute to RERI publications that examine current economic conditions, long-term regional trends, and the economic relationships that shape Southwest Florida and the broader Everglades region. These are collaborative RERI projects, and I contributed as part of the research team.
Everglades Regional Economy
Clean Water Economy · 2026
I supported research examining the economic contribution of the Clean Water Economy across the Greater Everglades region. My work included learning to interpret input-output model results and distinguish between direct, indirect, and induced effects across measures such as employment, labor income, value added, and economic activity.
The project helped me develop a better understanding of how relationships between industries can be used to estimate the broader economic activity associated with water-dependent sectors.
Southwest Florida Economic Outlook
Regional Economic Indicators
The Economic Outlook is where I have learned to move beyond reporting numbers and think about the story behind them. I analyze regional and macroeconomic indicators, compare changes across periods and geographies, and help develop narratives that explain what the latest data may be signaling about the economy.
My work has included indicators related to inflation, consumer sentiment, taxable sales, and broader macroeconomic conditions. The process has taught me to think carefully about what can actually be concluded from the data rather than simply describing whether a number moved up or down.
Southwest Florida Economic Almanac
Households & Families · Transportation
For the 2026 Southwest Florida Economic Almanac, I worked primarily on the Households & Families and Transportation sections. I use Excel to organize and analyze regional datasets exported from R, update historical series with newly released data, verify calculations and comparisons, and help translate the results into charts and written explanations.
Working on the Almanac has given me experience handling data across multiple counties and years while thinking carefully about consistency, data sources, and how regional trends should be presented to a public audience.
Finding the number is only the beginning.
One of the biggest things research has taught me is that finding a number is usually the easy part. The harder part is deciding what that number actually means. I have learned to pay closer attention to how data are measured, whether comparisons are consistent, where the information comes from, and what conclusions the evidence actually supports.
That has also changed the way I communicate economics. I try to make analysis understandable without making it sound more certain than the data allow. Whether I am working with a regional indicator, an input-output model, or an academic paper, I increasingly find myself asking the same question: what can I confidently learn from the evidence in front of me?
Leading BRASA
A community I once wished I had, and now help lead.
Building the community I wished existed
When I was applying to FGCU, an organization like BRASA was exactly what I wished existed. I wanted a community of Brazilian students I could ask questions, connect with, and look to when trying to imagine what my life at college would be like.
BRASA FGCU was only founded during my second semester, and I joined a few months later. Over time, I took on more responsibility until becoming president. What I’m most proud of is helping strengthen the kind of community I once wished I had — a place where new students can find not only events, but people they can ask for help, friendships they can build, and a sense that they belong.
Part of something bigger
BRASA FGCU is part of BRASA, the largest association of Brazilian students abroad, with a presence at more than 100 universities across North America, Europe, and Asia. More than 15,000 students have been part of the network, connecting local chapters like ours to a much broader community of Brazilian students, professionals, and leaders around the world.
As president, I lead a seven-member executive board serving more than 100 members. My role touches nearly every part of the organization — from programming, partnerships, and finances to marketing, social media, and day-to-day operations. Much of leadership happens behind the scenes: keeping projects moving, helping the board work together, making decisions when plans change, and making sure ideas actually become events and initiatives.
See our events, team, and community on the official BRASA FGCU website.
Visit BRASA FGCUWhat we build at FGCU
At FGCU, we try to build a community that is useful in more than one way. Through initiatives such as BRASA Network, we invite professors and professionals to share their experiences and give students opportunities to learn outside the classroom. We have hosted conversations on topics ranging from economics and careers to artificial intelligence, while also building relationships with organizations beyond campus.
Just as important are the less formal moments. Outdoor events, social gatherings, watch parties, and other activities give members a chance to actually become friends. To me, those experiences are not separate from BRASA's purpose — they are part of what turns an organization people join into a community people feel connected to.
Beyond campus
One of the experiences that made me realize how far my involvement with BRASA had taken me was representing the organization at the inauguration of the Brazilian Southwest Florida Chamber of Commerce. I was the youngest person in the room and surrounded by established professionals and business leaders, which was intimidating at first. But it also marked a shift for me: I had joined BRASA simply hoping to meet other Brazilian students, and now I was representing those students in a professional community beyond FGCU.
BRASA has also connected me with the broader organization through the BRASA Summit Americas at Northeastern University in Boston. Meeting students from other chapters helped me see BRASA FGCU as part of something much larger than our own campus and gave me new ideas for what our chapter could become.
What BRASA has taught me
BRASA has taught me that leadership is often less about having the answer and more about creating the conditions for other people to do their best work. I've become more comfortable delegating, making decisions when plans are uncertain, representing a group in unfamiliar environments, and working with people who approach problems differently than I do.
It has also changed the way I think about community. I joined BRASA because I wanted one for myself. Leading it has taught me how rewarding it is to help build that community for someone else.