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Student News May 25, 2026

Class Day 2026: Celebrating a year of outstanding achievement

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The annual Economics Department Class Day celebration began on Monday, May 25th, in McCosh Hall, where family and friends of the Class of 2026 gathered to celebrate the graduates.   

At the beginning of the ceremony, Economics Department Chair Wolfgang Pesendorfer recognized the class’s academic achievements and shared class statistics. This year, the class comprises 168 students—a department record—123 of whom also earned minors in 34 different university-wide programs. Fifty-four received the Minor in Finance through the Bendheim Center for Finance, while 20 completed the Program in Political Economy. Pesendorfer also highlighted that the Class of 2026 includes 35 international students from 24 different countries, and U.S. students represent 26 states plus D.C. 

“Congratulations to all of you for your many varied and extraordinary accomplishments,” Pesendorfer 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.

 

Koda Gursoy won 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 Koda Gursoy. Halbert White is a famous econometrician and the 1972 Valedictorian.

In addition to majoring in economics, Gursoy, whose thesis was titled “Condorcet Meets Allais,” earned a Minor in Computer Science.

 

The 2026 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 Felipe de Bolle for his thesis titled “Instant Payments, Financial Inclusion, and Access to Credit: Evidence from the Adoption of Pix in Brazil.”

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 Joe Tyson for his thesis titled “The Effect of Mobile Money Adoption on the African Banking Sector.”

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

The Burton G. Malkiel *64 Senior Thesis Prizes in Finance, awarded for the most outstanding theses in the field of finance, were presented to:

The Elizabeth Bogan Prize in Economics, awarded annually for the best thesis or theses in health, education, or welfare, was awarded to Chas Brown for his thesis titled “Upzoned and Underwhelmed: The Effects of a Transit-Oriented Zoning Reform on House Prices and Rents.”

The Hugo F. Sonnenschein Prize is awarded for the best thesis in economic theory. This year, both first- and second-place prizes were presented. Koda Gursoy received the first-place award, and Ava Dempsey was awarded the second-place prize for her thesis titled “The Effect of LLM-Assisted Pre-Play Communication in Economic Games.”

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

Finally, the Wolf Balleisen Memorial Prize for the best thesis on an economics subject written by an economics major went to Koda Gursoy.

 

Recognizing outside prizes

The excellence of the graduates expanded beyond economics, and Pesendorfer highlighted two students who won a major university award from another department. Emmanuela Omole received the 2026 Henry Horn Prize for her thesis titled “State Solutions to Housing Crises: Investigating the Impact of Rent Control Legislation on Residential Vacancy Rates in Ireland.” This prestigious award recognizes a graduating senior in the Minor in Environmental Studies who has produced the best visual representation of their independent research for a broad audience.

Sarina Sheth received an honorable mention for the 2026 N. Rom-Rymer Class of 1973, Senior Thesis Prize in Global Health and Health Policy for her thesis titled “Expanding Care, Entrenching Disparities: Medicaid Expansion and Racial/Ethnic Inequities in Preconception Health.” Her thesis will be shared on the Global Health website for its “original scholarship, depth, and insights.”

 

Commending our outstanding graduate student preceptors and faculty advisers

Recognizing graduate students who went above and beyond as preceptors, Pesendorfer presented this year’s Graduate Student Teaching Prizes to Kaan Cankat, Kavya Rajagopalan, Alicia Zhang, and William Zhao.

Pesendorfer awarded the Harvey Rosen Teaching Prize to Professor Henry Shim for his outstanding contributions to undergraduate education, while Professor Simon Jäger received the Harvey Rosen Advising Prize in recognition of his excellence in senior thesis advising.

Students shared, “Professor Shim is a truly wonderful instructor who allows for deep understanding of material and makes course content easy to grasp.”

“Professor Jäger struck the perfect balance between expert guidance and letting me figure out things on my own.”

 

Celebrating the department’s all-star student athletes

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

Congratulations to the incredible Class of 2026! We can’t wait to see everything you achieve in the years ahead.

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