Economic Scholars Program 2025
PROGRAM SUMMARY
The Economic Scholars Program is an economic research conference. This hybrid event allows undergraduate students to share their work, understand what it’s like to participate in an economic research conference, network with peers, and discover internship and employment openings with the Federal Reserve.
Agenda
Monday, April 21, 2025
9:00 am – 6:00 pm ET
| 9:00 – 9:45 am |
Arrival and BreakfastPianalto Auditorium |
| 9:45 – 9:55 am |
Welcome and Opening RemarksPianalto AuditoriumEdward S. Knotek II, Senior Vice President and Director of Research |
| 9:55 – 10:05 am |
Transitional Break |
| 10:05 – 11:05 am |
Morning Session 1Pianalto AuditoriumSession Chair: Isma'il Seddon, Junior, Case Western Reserve University Wayeera Robertson, Senior, Pennsylvania Western University Nicholas Baum, Sophomore, Columbia University Zack Wyse, Senior, Allegheny College Discussant: Myles Tucker, Junior, Morehouse College Cincinnati RoomSession Chair: Mahak Kumawat, Sophomore, Berea College (Virtual) Gavin Edleson, Junior, Tennessee Technological University Joanna Chiu, Junior, Case Western Reserve University Sean Hélaïli, Sophomore, University of North Carolina, Wilmington Discussant: Kidus Bayou, Junior, The College of Wooster |
| 11:05 – 11:15 am |
Break |
| 11:15 am – 12:15 pm |
Morning Session 2Pianalto AuditoriumSession Chair: Rayan Dos Passos, Senior, The College of Wooster Diletta Mungo, Junior, Pennsylvania Western University, California Mikel de Julián, Senior, Grinnell College Ammar Sulemanjee, Junior, Case Western Reserve University Discussant: Pranavi Rebala, Junior, University of Connecticut (Virtual) Cincinnati RoomSession Chair: Ethan Przytulski, Freshman, Case Western Reserve University Jimmy Avila, Senior, The College of Wooster Leo Widtmann, Senior, The College of Wooster Jonathan Clemente, Senior, The University of Akron Discussant: Ananya Anand, Senior, Tulane University |
| 12:15 – 1:00 pm |
Lunch |
| 1:00 – 1:45 pm |
Perspectives on Careers in Economics – Panel DiscussionPianalto AuditoriumModerator: James Mitchell, Vice President Panel:
|
| 1:45 – 1:55 pm |
Break |
| 1:55 – 2:55 pm |
Afternoon Session 3Pianalto AuditoriumSession Chair: Sam Weber, Freshman, University of Notre Dame Kiet Nguyen, Senior, Case Western Reserve University Vaishnavi Kumar, Senior, Case Western Reserve University Bontu Ankit Patro, Senior, Boston University Discussant: Prisha Patel, Junior, The Ohio State University Cincinnati RoomSession Chair: Michelle Gantumur, Freshman, Case Western Reserve University Hunter Jones, Senior, Kent State University Christopher Dettmer, Senior, Oberlin College Eva Bauman, Senior, The College of Wooster Discussant: Leela Khatri, Junior, Vassar College |
| 2:55 – 3:05 pm |
Break |
| 3:05 – 4:05 pm |
Afternoon Session 4Pianalto AuditoriumSession Chair: Allison Osei-Okrah, Sophomore, The College of Wooster Cole Phillips, Senior, University of Illinois, Chicago Kabir Bajaj, Senior, The College of Wooster Anne Castagnero, Senior, Case Western Reserve University Discussant: Michael Sipper, Senior, University of Pittsburgh (Virtual) Cincinnati RoomSession Chair: Gabriel Salvatore Xavier Saccoccio, Sophomore, Allegheny College Lucas Jones, Senior, Case Western Reserve University Adam Gousie, Junior, Case Western Reserve University Ethan Hunt, Junior, The College of Wooster Discussant: Tyler Sotomayor, Junior, Columbia University |
| 4:05 – 4:10 pm |
Break |
| 4:10 – 4:25 pm |
Closing RemarksPianalto AuditoriumEdward S. Knotek II, Senior Vice President and Director of Research |
| 4:25 – 6:00 pm |
Networking ReceptionCleveland Room |
Peer Review Board members
We would like to extend our thanks to the Peer Review Board members whose evaluations resulted in the selection of the proposals for this year’s program:
| Name | School |
| Ananya Anand | Tulane University |
| Pavika Arora | The Ohio State University |
| Ashley Baljeet | University of Pittsburgh |
| Diana Cherniack | University of Rochester |
| Shayan Colabawalla | Allegheny College |
| Scarlett Deng | University of Pittsburgh |
| Veneta Djambova | The Pennsylvania State University |
| Abigail Edwards | Columbia University |
| Luke Evans | Macalester College |
| Jaunel Forrester | Benedict College |
| Michelle Gantumur | Case Western Reserve University |
| Juliana Grimm | Kent State University |
| Maleah Henfield’s | Benedict College |
| Ethan Hunt | College of Wooster |
| Alexander Kim | College of Wooster |
| Shichen Li | The Ohio State University |
| Siya Motwani | Case Western Reserve University |
| Princess Nworah | Northern Kentucky University |
| Kartika Palanisami | Texas A&M University, College Station |
| Manon Reagans | Oberlin College |
| Wayeera Robertson | Pennsylvania Western University |
| Shams Sadin | University of Cincinnati |
| Ismail Seddon | Case Western Reserve University |
| Michael Sipper | University of Pittsburgh |
| Tyler Sotomayor | Columbia University |
| Arthur Stadlin | The Ohio State University |
| Anh Tran | University of Rochester |
| Myles Tucker | Morehouse College |
| Nala Uter | Benedict College |
| Gabriel Salvatore Xavier Saccoccio | Allegheny College |
| Yizhen Yin | The Ohio State University |
Faculty Advisory Board
The organizers extend their appreciation to the members of our Faculty Advisory Board who encouraged their students to participate in this year’s program and provided guidance for our planning:
| Name | School |
| Abdullah Al-Bahrani | Northern Kentucky University |
| Sami Al-Farham | Northern Kentucky University |
| Maria Apostolova-Mihaylova | Centre College |
| Tim Bianco | Allegheny College |
| Colin Davidson | The College of Wooster |
| Michael DeDad | The University of Akron |
| Asawari Deshmukh | University of Cincinnati |
| Chelsea Dowell | Tennessee Technological University |
| John Duca | Oberlin College |
| Tisha Emerson | East Carolina University |
| Sucharita Ghosh | The University of Akron |
| Jenny Hawkins | Case Western Reserve University |
| Ellen Heekind | Xavier University |
| Jingze Jiang | Pennsylvania Western University |
| Adam Jones | Schreiner University |
| Liuling Liu | Bowling Green State University |
| Carla Nietfeld | Miami University of Ohio |
| Russell Ormiston | Allegheny College |
| Darshak Patel | University of Kentucky |
| John Rehbeck | The Ohio State University |
| Beth Ryan | Allegheny College |
| Kuzey Yilmaz | Cleveland State University |
| Gaiyan Zhang | University of Missouri–St. Louis |
And finally, we extend our sincere gratitude to the members of our Faculty Advisory Board who provided training to the students preparing for their conference roles:
- Jenny Hawkins, Case Western Reserve University—How to Prepare a Conference-Ready Proposal
- Liuling Liu, Bowling Green State University and Gaiyan Zhang, University of Missouri–St. Louis—Peer Review Board Training
- John Duca, Oberlin College—How to Prepare an Effective Conference Presentation
- Asawari Deshmukh, University of Cincinnati and Chelsea Dowell, Tennessee Technological University—Discussant Training
Important deadlines for the 2025 event
- April 3 – Presenters training
- April 7 – In-person registration closes (virtual registration will be open throughout the program)
- April 8 – Discussants and Session Chairs training
- April 21 – Economic Scholars Program
How can students get involved?
How can students get involved?
- Participate as a Peer Review Board Member. Applications have closed.
- Students can apply to be a member of the Peer Review Board. Peer Review Board members evaluate all conference proposals against a rubric to determine which papers should be presented during the event. Members of the Peer Review Board are also eligible to enter their own proposals for consideration.
- Become a Presenter. Applications have closed.
- Students conducting original research in economics or finance are encouraged to submit a proposal based on their independent research. Research can be independent or co-authored by other students and can be empirical, theoretical, or analytical in nature. A Peer Review Board will review all proposals and evaluate them based on a rubric.
- Students must submit the research proposal using the 2025 Proposal Template as a Word document to clev.ESPproposal@clev.frb.org, on or before March 12, 2025. Note: Alternative formats will not be accepted.
- Become a Discussant. Applications have closed.
- Discussants help audience members better understand the proposal and help the author understand what can be done to improve the work. They read proposals carefully and take time to understand the contributions, strengths, and weaknesses of the proposal, and then provide comments and suggestions for the author to consider. Discussants should be prepared to deliver 5–7 minutes of remarks following the presentation.
- Serve as a Session Chair. Applications have closed.
- Session Chairs are responsible for timekeeping during the session, introducing presenters and discussants, and managing questions from the audience.
Please view sessions from the 2024 Economic Scholars Program using the video links in the 2024 program agenda to see these roles in action.
When and Where
Monday, April 21, 2025
9:00 AM to 6:00 PM ET
Attend in person in Cleveland or virtually
Questions? Email clevelandeconomicoutreach@clev.frb.org