We recently had the chance to connect with Alyceson-Grace Eke and have shared our conversation below.
Alyceson-Grace, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Recently, I became a kickboxing instructor at my long-time kickboxing gym in Denton. I’ve been going there for over 5 years, and it’s truly an honor to give back to the place that saved my life. For the past year, I have been intentional with taking classes and giving my full effort as though I’m in the boxing ring – my paternal grandfather was a boxer, and my maternal grandmother loved watching boxing with her friends…it runs in the family.
When I got unexpectedly laid off in 2024, the only things I could do were pray and kickbox. I had just found my kitten, Diana Marie, the week before my job was eliminated, and I had signed a lease for a new apartment. A new life with no new income was an anxiety inducing experience. My life from ages 22 to 24 consisted of unhealthy and unsafe choices, and as a 25 year old recently baptized (and with a more developed frontal lobe), my spirit knew that returning to those choices could be devastating and deadly. So, I dove into my faith through Bible study and involvement with my church, and I made time for kickboxing on a daily basis to maintain some form of normalcy in my life. That summer was probably one of the most invigorating periods of my life. Kickboxing makes me feel alive. Kickboxing makes me feel like a champion.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Alyceson-Grace Eke, a 26 year old entrepreneur and educator seeking to glorify God through my practice and empowerment of others. I am The ECON Queen and have built the brand and business since 2021. The purpose of The ECON Queen is to provide supplemental academic and financial education resources for all ages and life stages. Our vision is to revolutionize the institution of education and provide community members with the intellectual resources to achieve self-sufficiency. Academically, I specialize in collegiate and high school subjects: Economics, Business, Algebra, English Language Arts, and SAT Prep (10th-12th Grade). Financially, I provide private 1:1 coaching, couples financial counseling, financial literacy workshops, and specialized financial therapy.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who taught you the most about work?
My parents taught me more than anyone else about work, and they inspire me daily to pursue my goals and dreams even in the midst of trials and tribulations. My Dad and Mom worked together to develop Call Center Times, a media services company serving as the premier provider of information pertaining to the call/contact center industry.
They started the business to be fully present for my entire life – they showed up to every event, every game, every activity of mine. They poured into my education beyond the state expectations and prioritized my needs before all else.
Before the business, they were both in the traditional corporate world with consistent and comfortable income, so to sacrifice that performance-based peace for a God-provided vision in order to be the parents they believed I deserved moves me on levels that push me on a daily basis to demonstrate my love and devotion to the best of my ability.
My Mom tells me how proud she is every day, and it’s quite an affirming expression. Unfortunately, my Dad has passed away, so I can only hope that he is watching and witnessing me follow his footsteps with pride and relief that he made the choice to show up for me from my first breath to his last.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Thank you for your dreams, thank you for honoring your parents, thank you for loving your friends, thank you for aspiring to excellence at all times, thank you for enduring and overcoming every thought of self-inflicted death and defeat for over 10 years straight, and thank you for believing that me existing and what we could do together was worth sparing your life.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
Education is the most powerful asset a person can have, and society does not want everyone to access that asset.
For a person to make the most efficient decision, they need information and context to make an educated and rational decision. Emotions are often irrational, but facts are consistent. This privilege, in my view, is not introduced as an opportunity for everyone. For instance, students who take “on-level” courses are not introduced to the same content as “advanced” students, which results in increased disparities in knowledge and academic success. I especially saw this in AP US History versus on-level US History, but it happens in all subjects – not just history.
Of course, there is a reason why the classes and students are advanced, but doesn’t that unintentionally suggest that “on-level” students aren’t worthy of knowing the truth or that they are not smart enough for it? Most students take on-level classes; it is the basic expectation, but this implies that our standards are rather low and most students are never introduced to the full truth of any subject. We should set our expectations higher and pursue the truth as people, communities, and as a nation at large.
The United States has a unique history of anti-literacy laws and other discrepancies in the dispersion of information, implying that the freedom of education is a treasure so powerful it was worth preventing entire demographics from accessing or sharing the information. If it were useless, it wouldn’t matter if a person could read, write, or attend school with others.
This is why The ECON Queen is needed. The institution of education must be rebuilt with the intention of providing the unadulterated truth of every subject to encourage advancement and discovery amongst all people. Expecting the same institutions that introduced the problem to want to solve the problem is a fantasy, and I find it a pitiful attempt at absolving ourselves of the opportunity to enlighten and empower our fellow peers. Instead of waiting for other people to solve the problem, I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and create a new solution.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What will you regret not doing?
I regret never appreciating my Bachelor’s degree and celebrating after society became COVID-comfortable, and I don’t think I will release that regret until I do something about it. I graduated in May of 2021, so we did not get the traditional graduation. My entire life had been sustained on the premise of this moment, and it was hollow for me. With a pandemic, a dead parent, a slowly deteriorating romantic relationship, and many weakened or lost friendships and relationships due to a variety of choices, it felt like I had stayed alive all those years for nothing. I threw no parties, I never posted graduation pictures, and I do not take my Bachelor’s degree out of the envelope besides to take a picture for proof during job applications.
Frankly, it is hypocritical of me to value education so deeply and take my own accomplishment for granted; I would never treat anyone the same way. So…since I dislike being a hypocrite more than being naturally indifferent to my own success, I someday intend to have a large and long-lasting celebration for both a Bachelor’s and Master’s graduation (I just have to get a Master’s first). After all…how can I be The ECON Queen, an excellent figure who screams “Claim Your Crown!” to everyone around me, if I do not Claim My Crown as well?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.econqueen.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/econ_queen/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theeconqueen/
- Twitter: https://x.com/TheECONQueen
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheECONQueen/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheECONQueen
