It was with great pleasure that friends and family members of the Class of 2025 gathered in McCosh Hall on Monday, May 26th, for the Economics Department’s annual Class Day celebration.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Economics Department Acting Chair Mark Aguiar recognized the academic achievements of the class as a whole and shared class stats. Aguiar noted that 70 of the 121 students graduating with Economics degrees also earned 98 certificates or minors. Twenty-seven received the Certificate or Minor in Finance through the Bendheim Center for Finance, while 16 completed the Program in Political Economy. 

“Congratulations to all of you for your many varied and extraordinary accomplishments,” Aguiar said. “Best wishes and continued success to all of our graduates.”

Here’s a quick look at some of the biggest moments from this year’s Class Day celebration.

Oliver Zhong awarded the Halbert White ’72 Prize in Economics

This year’s Halbert White ‘72 Prize in Economics—awarded annually to the department’s top student as evidenced by excellence in department coursework and creativity in their Junior Paper and Senior Thesis—went to Oliver Zhong. Halbert White is a famous econometrician and the 1972 Valedictorian.

In addition to majoring in economics, Zhong, whose thesis was titled “Understanding the Market Segmentation and Price Discovery of Cross-Listed Chinese Stocks in New York and Hong Kong,” earned a Minor in Finance, a Minor in Statistics and Machine Learning, and a certificate in Political Economy.

The 2025 Senior Thesis Prize winners

Each year, the department recognizes students whose Senior Thesis projects exemplify quality, creativity, and academic rigor.

The John Glover Wilson Memorial Award for the best thesis on international economics or politics was awarded to Emily Paulin for their thesis titled “The Effect of the Paris Agreement on Carbon Emissions: A Difference-in-Difference Approach.”

The Walter C. Sauer ’28 Prize, awarded annually to the student whose thesis or research project on any aspect of United States foreign trade is judged to be the most creative, was awarded to Lev Ricanati for their thesis titled “Valuing Diffuse Global Public Goods from Satellite Constellations: Evidence from GPS and Airline Delays.”

The Griswold Center for Economic Policy Studies Prizes, awarded to the best policy-relevant theses, were given to:

• John Barrett for their thesis titled “Reforming the Reforms: Analyzing How Managerial Entrenchment Impacted Performance During the Implementation of Japanese Corporate Governance Reforms.”
• Anjali Brunnermeier for their thesis titled “Charging Ahead, Left Behind? Balancing Local Labor Market Trade-Offs of Recent US Power Plant Retirements and Renewable Energy Expansion.”
• Amelia Feiner for their thesis titled “The Power of the Payor: Exploring the Effect of Mandated Infertility Treatment Coverage on Female Labor Outcomes”
• Rishi Gorrepati for their thesis titled “Public Transit and Employment Rates in Northern Virginia.”
•  Sofie Grouws for their thesis titled “Rural Economic Stagnation Despite Farm Recovery in the Long Aftermath of the 1980s US Farm Debt Crisis.”

The Burton G. Malkiel *64 Senior Thesis Prizes in Finance were awarded to:

• Eric Wang for their thesis titled “Optimal Capital Structure for S&P 500 Companies: The Impact of Financial Distress and Management Incentives.”
• Oliver Zhong for their thesis titled “Understanding the Market Segmentation and Price Discovery of Cross-Listed Chinese Stocks in New York and Hong Kong.”

The Elizabeth Bogan Prize in Economics, awarded annually for the best thesis or theses in health, education, or welfare, were awarded to Ela Noble for their thesis titled “Incarceration Outcomes for Indigenous Territorians: Evidence from the Australian Northern Territory Emergency Response (2007) and Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Act (2012)” and Catalina Posada for their thesis titled “The Economic Toll of Respiratory Infectious Diseases in Infants: Disruptions to Female Labor Supply and Mounting Healthcare Costs.”

The Daniel I. Rubinfeld ’67 Prizes in Empirical Economics, awarded for the best theses in empirical economics, were given to:

• Mariana Icaza Diaz for their thesis titled “Raícesque Pesan: Intergenerational Wealth and the Geography of Opportunity in Mexico.”
• Julian Jensen-Lim for their thesis titled “When Wealth Builds or Buries Entrepreneurship: The Homeownership Paradox in High-Growth Venture Formation.”

Finally, the Wolf Balleisen Memorial Prize for the best thesis on an economics subject written by an economics major went to  Gabriela Cejas for their thesis titled “Confronting the Kingpins’ Court: The Impact of OFAC Sanctions on Communities Around Cartels and Organized Crime Groups in Mexico.”

Recognizing outside prizes

During the ceremony, Aguiar took the time to highlight the achievement of an economics major who won a major university prize from another department. Catalina Posada received the 2025 Beth N. Rom-Rymer, Class of 1973, Senior Thesis Prize in Global Health and Health Policy. 

This prestigious honor recognizes the most outstanding theses written by students earning a minor in Global Health. Catalina was awarded, along with two other students, based on the original scholarship, insights, and depth of her work.

Expressing gratitude for our outstanding graduate student preceptors and faculty advisers

During this year’s Class Day ceremony, Aguiar also recognized six graduate students for going above and beyond as preceptors. The winners of this year’s Graduate Student Teaching Prizes were Stephanie Hu, Simon Margolin, Emily Merola, Cameron Ricciardi, Carol Shou, and Carolyn Tsao.

Aguiar awarded the Harvey Rosen Teaching Prize to Professor Zachary Bleemer for his outstanding contributions to undergraduate education, while Professor Henry Shim received the Harvey Rosen Advising Prize in recognition of his commitment to undergraduate advising.

Students shared, “Professor Bleemer spends a lot of time encouraging students to come up with concepts and to challenge assumptions in economic papers on their own.”

“The style of the course made research feel a lot more approachable.” 

“Professor Shim has consistently been kind, encouraging, and incredibly generous with his time.”

Celebrating the department’s all-star student athletes

Finally, Aguiar recognized many of the department’s student athletes, whose achievements made the entire university proud. Those students include: 

• Jacob Faulkner (Baseball)
• William Huang (Men’s Golf)
• Michael Bath (Men’s Lacrosse)
• Sophie Whiteway (Women’s Lacrosse)
• Zoe Scheske (Women’s Openweight Rowing) 
• Kate Toomey (Women’s Soccer) 
• Lily Bryant (Women’s Soccer) 
• Brett Feyerick (Men’s Swimming and Diving) 
• Tyler Hong (Men’s Swimming and Diving) 
• Max Hunger (Men’s Swimming and Diving) 
• Ela Noble (Women’s Swimming and Diving):   
• Filippos Astreinidis (Men’s Tennis):  
• Nicholas Bendtsen (Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country) 
• Connor Chen (Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country) 
• Sebastian Clatworthy (Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country) 
• Henry Wedbush (Men’s Volleyball)  
• Roko Pozaric (Men’s Water Polo)

Congratulations to the incredible Class of 2025! We can’t wait to see everything you achieve in the years ahead.