For Rouse, taking on many diverse roles has always been simply a part of her nature.

Goldin says that while Rouse’s intelligence and determination are obvious, she is also unique in her ability to be a “a friend, a colleague, a mother of two adorable children [and] a person with great appreciation of music and dance and theater.”

Close friends say that Rouse—whose extraordinary time management skills have enabled her to juggle a high profile career with a family—was “self-disciplined” and “very organized” early in her college days.

“When ten o’clock came around, we could be having the most intense conversation, but she would say ‘It’s my bedtime. I have to go to bed,’” says Claire Finkelstein ’86, who was Rouse’s roommate throughout college.

But in addition to managing her role as an academic economist, public policy expert, and adviser to the President, Rouse has also found the time to be an extremely loyal friend.

“She is ... the sort of person you know you will be able to count on for the rest of your life,” Finkelstein says.

For Rouse, being able to balance relationships and a prominent career has required her to retain an organized and determined approach to life.

“I’ve definitely had to make choices and prioritize [to] be the wife and mom that I want to be and continue to be the economist that I want to be as well,” she says.

ADVOCATING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

The focus of Rouse’s academic endeavors—the economics of labor and education—sheds light on another facet of her personality: her devotion to social advocacy.

In fact, her first interest in economics stemmed from a desire to understand the consequences of the recession in the early 1980s.

“I’ve always been concerned about social issues, and I was struck by high unemployment,” she says.

Rouse’s sister Carolyn, who is also a Princeton professor, says that her sister’s desire to effect social change was obvious even when they were growing up.

“She has always been very outspoken,” Carolyn says. “Early on in her life, she wanted to be able to change social systems from within.”

Harvard economics graduate student Emily G. Sands, who was one of Rouse’s undergraduate thesis advisees, says that Rouse was “extremely dedicated to the project and to student life,” and remained connected even when she was away from campus working for the Obama Administration.