Samford University’s economics curriculum rivals top programs from across the country when it comes to preparing its students for their career or the next step in their education. Leaders and professors in the Brock School of Business program are internationally recognized and, in turn, help to provide incredible opportunities for its students and graduates. Many alumni have gone on to prestigious graduate programs after they leave Samford, and four 2021 graduates will soon be added to that mix.

 

Haven Voorhees—an economics major, member of the Brock School of Business Dean’s Student Advisory Council and president of the Finance and Economics Women (FEW) student organization—has been selected for the prominent Hayek Fellowship at New York University (NYU). Through the fellowship, awarded annually to only two economics students in the United States, Voorhees will receive coverage for full tuition and fees while studying in NYU’s Master of Economics program. As a Hayek fellow, Voorhees will take the usual program courses and will also have a chance to study Austrian economics, institutional economics and political economy.

 

“I am extremely thankful to Samford’s Brock School of Business and the economics faculty for educating and investing in me over the past four years. It is because of the internships and academic opportunities provided to me at Samford that I have been set up to receive this selective fellowship,” Voorhees said. “I am thrilled for the opportunity to study within one of the world’s strongest and most connected economics departments and believe this opportunity will prepare me to influence the world’s ‘big problems,’ such a poverty and its alleviation. I hope to develop the skillset to evaluate both the intended and unintended impacts of policies and ultimately maximize the effectiveness of constrained resource situations, making people better off.”

 

Julia Sisk—a Brock Scholar studying economics and sociology—will begin the Master’s in Economics program at Troy University’s Sorrell College of Business in the fall. Sisk has received a graduate assistantship from the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy which will fully support her studies. The assistantship includes a stipend over the academic year and includes a full waiver of tuition and fees. Her education will include classic courses such as Econometrics and also offer more specialized courses in Austrian economics, History of Economic Thought and Economics of Public Policy. This program will allow Sisk the ability to conduct in-depth research and opportunities to communicate the findings of her research, as well as the work of others.

 

“I am forever indebted to the Brock Scholars program for giving me opportunities to stretch myself. Due to the program’s unique functions, I am able to study racism, poverty, mass incarceration, and public policy while gaining the same business skills that Brock School of Business offers. Completing Oxbridge tutorials, seminars, fellowships, and a senior thesis provides me with new experiences, perspectives and wisdom that I likely would have never developed,” Sisk said. “Due to my professors’ wonderful teaching and guidance, I feel confident that Troy’s program will challenge me intellectually to look deeper into financial capabilities and literacy across race and gender. Ultimately, Samford has taught me to serve and spread the gospel through furthering my career and I am ever so grateful for that.”

 

Sam Katulich—a University Fellow and Brock Scholar majoring in economics and finance—has been accepted to the Scalia Scholars Program at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. Through the program, he will receive full coverage of his law school tuition and fees and will have the opportunity to choose from the school’s 17 concentrations and eight legal tracks. George Mason’s program will provide Katulich the rare opportunity to combine legal coursework with economic research through its Law & Economics Center. He is specifically interested in researching the intersection between the law and economic development in urban areas.

 

“I cannot express how grateful I am for my time at Samford’s Brock School of Business. From internships, to challenging coursework, to opportunities in research, the school has provided me every avenue necessary to discover my passions and invest in my community,” Katulich said. “The faculty and administration push students to maximize their time and education, and the result is a world-class business learning experience. It is because of my Samford experiences that I will have this fantastic opportunity to attend law school at George Mason and I could not be more excited to pursue my dream of becoming a lawyer.”

 

In the fall, Sinclaire Green—an economics major, University Fellow and student athlete—will begin her Ph.D. at the University of Alabama where she plans to pursue a dual Juris Doctor (J.D.)/Ph.D. in law and economics. Green received the university’s top award for graduate students, The Graduate Council Fellowship, which will provide full funding for her graduate study. Following her studies, she plans to pursue a career in academic research including her interests in patent law and innovation.

 

“I am extremely thankful for Samford’s economics professors who have educated and invested their time in me over the past few years. Seeing how much they each love teaching, researching and investing in students has solidified my decision to pursue my Ph.D.,” Green said. “I hope to one day follow in my professors’ footsteps and produce both meaningful research and help develop and encourage students. I feel confident that Alabama’s program will continue to challenge me and prepare me for my future.”

 

Voorhees, Sisk, Katulich and Green join many recent graduates in their pursuit of prestigious postgraduate degrees in the economics field. From the class of 2019, Shelby Collins is a Ph.D. student and a research assistant at Texas Tech University’s Free Market Institute; Rachel Johnson Ashford is pursuing a Master of Applied Economics at Purdue University; and, in the fall, Moriah Stice will begin pursuing her Ph.D. at Texas A&M University. From the class of 2017, Emily Ehrnschwender received a Master of Science in Economics at Tufts University and Courtney Allen McCafferty completed the Master of Science in Industrial Organizational Psychology at Middle Tennessee State University. Victoria Batson, a member of the class of 2016, received a Master of Science in Industrial Organizational Psychology at Austin Peay State University.

 

Professor of economics Art Carden shared, “With the growth of student-led, faculty-supported initiatives like FEW, our Samford economics program is building on a unique and vibrant intellectual culture that combines a serious academic mission with a serious spiritual mission. That’s bearing visible fruit as our students pursue the kind of training that will help them make sustained contributions to how we understand the world over what I expect to be long and successful careers in academia and public policy.”