05/20/2026
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 2026 Economics Student Conference and End-of-Year Celebration!
This year’s conference featured 10 sessions and nearly 50 student presenters from across the economics program, including undergraduate students, MS students, and MBA students. The event highlighted the impressive range of student research and analysis, with students actively supporting one another throughout the event.
We would also like to thank Kanlaya Barr, Director of Corporate Economics at John Deere, for delivering this year’s keynote address. She shared insights into her career path, discussed how John Deere applies economic thinking and data analysis to business decisions, and spoke about how the company is responding to the current economic environment.
Congratulations to our paper competition winners:
Graduate
🏆 Best Paper: Joshua Cray
Second Place: AJ Lee, Chase MacDonald
Honorable Mention: John Gram
Honorable Mention: Thomas Johnson, Brian Ardoin, Terik Coleman
Undergraduate
🏆 Best Paper: Nicholas Prusa
Second Place : Imene Chafai
Honorable mention: Richmond Lingard
Thank you to all of the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and guests who helped make this year’s event such a success.