Math Business | Math Economics

KYLE BLACKBURN | MATH BUSINESS

Photo courtesy of Andy Woehr

BY JOE CHO

Asst. Life Editor choyy19@wfu.edu

Coming from a small private high school in Warrenton, Va., it seemed as if Kyle Blackburn fit the mold of a small private institution in the South — like a fish that graduates from a pond to a lake. Admittedly, he loved the warm weather of the South, which helped narrow his search for schools. But primarily, Blackburn sought out institutions that were academically challenging and morally upstanding. Not too long into his selection process, he found Wake Forest, applied, and was accepted early in his senior year of high school. Initially, like most first-years, Blackburn was uncertain about what he wanted to study at Wake Forest. He always had an inclination for the STEM fields, but the fields were vast and diverse, so it was a matter of deciding which path he would take. “The question really became kind of whether I wanted to go into something like analytics, statistics, business, or if I wanted to go into biology, chemistry and medicine. I ended up doing both, which was interesting,” Blackburn said. Influenced by factors such as Sharon Payne’s information session on the business school and having an advantage in his math coursework, he eventually declared mathematical business as his major. Still, Blackburn always had an aptitude for biology and medicine, so naturally, he acquired biology and chemistry as his minors. Blackburn attributes many of his academic successes to the first classes he took as a freshman, especially multivariable calculus with Dr. John Gemmer. “I got to meet some of the most intelligent people that I’ve ever met, and some of my best friends came out of that class,” Blackburn said. “That was also the most challenging class I’ve taken at Wake in terms of rigor, and that really pushed me in my first year. It really set the tone for the rest of my college career.” Blackburn also credited Dr. Berenhaut of the mathematics department and Dr. Dalzell of the statistics department as academic mentors that fostered his interest in analytical and statistical math. Additionally, Blackburn has conducted research with Dr. Berenhaut, investigating clusterbased networks through community detection. Outside of the classroom, Kyle Blackburn is seen wearing many hats and participating in numerous events. Most notably, he is one of 40 President’s Aides who assist and represent President Hatch at special occasions and donor events. He has been the director of CHARGE for the last two years, a student leadership program designed for first-year students and sophomores. Blackburn is a part of the Athletic Student Leadership Council, a student council committee that focuses on improving fan engagement at sports events. He is also on the Undergraduate Business School Council. Blackburn is also involved with faith-based organizations such as STS, student-led worship and Catholic apologetics, a discussion group among the Catholic community. Most recently, he has received the Academic Excellence Award for his major. Along with this prestigious recognition, he was also inducted into multiple honor societies including Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Kappa Delta, Pi Mu Epsilon for mathematics and Beta Gamma Sigma for business. When asked about his daily routines and how he managed to accomplish all these feats, Blackburn responded with a simple yet powerful answer: he made sure to get the proper amount of sleep every night. Healthy advice for underclassmen. Even with four years of academic excellence and successful leadership under his belt, Blackburn shared with us a humble sentiment. “I am very blessed to have such a loving and supportive family that helped me become who I am today. They always had a really huge impact on me and my success,” Blackburn said gratefully. After graduation, Blackburn will be taking a gap year working as a research assistant for the University of Maryland Medical School’s surgical oncology department. Following the gap year, he will prepare, apply to and enroll in medical school in pursuit of his long-term goal to become a doctor.

ANDREW LOGAN | MATH ECONOMICS

BY CHARLIE BENEDICT

Business Manager benecc19@wfu.edu

Andrew Logan, a senior from Atlanta, Ga., majoring in mathematical economics, loves to solve problems. His interest in problem-solving spans multiple academic disciplines, which is part of the reason he chose to attend Wake Forest to begin with. “When I came to Wake Forest, I thought I’d study political science or philosophy or maybe economics,” Logan said. “I think that’s what’s so great about Wake Forest — you get to take a variety of classes and see what really clicks.” For Logan, Intermediate Mathematical Macroeconomics with Professor John Dalton was the class that made everything click for him. “That class was the reason I’m a mathematical economics major,” Logan said. “Professor Dalton is really good at eliciting student interest and engagement in the subject. It was really awesome and kind of a jumping-off point for my intellectual interests.”

Logan appreciates the unique and thorough way the major approaches problems.

“I think it’s a really interesting way to think about public policy problems,” Logan said. “It gives you a strong analytical toolkit through the econometrics curriculum that lets you evaluate competing policy proposals and their effects. As someone who is interested in public policy and government service, the mathematical economics major combines my love for rigorous thinking with my other interests.”

Some of Logan’s other interests were addressed by his International Finance class with Dr. Sandeep Mazumder.

“That class was really cool because it taught me how to think about the relationship between international trade and financial flows and how those affect domestic economic performance,” Logan said. “There were a lot of interesting connections between the economic growth and the mathematical macroeconomics class, which is stuff I’ll want to know for later in my life or career.”

Logan’s dedication to his interests was widely noticed by his teachers in both departments.

“The most remarkable student of my career. That is how I will remember Andrew Logan,” Dalton said. “His combination of intellectual ability, work ethic and humility, all fueled by his natural wonder and curiosity about economic problems, have made Andrew the ideal mathematical economics student. Whether from his presence in the classroom, his participation in the Federal Reserve Challenge Team, or his work as a research assistant and co-author of economics research, Andrew has made Wake Forest a much better place for the life of the mind.”

As noted by Dalton, Logan was a pivotal member on Wake Forest’s College Fed Challenge Team, an academic competition team that consisted of five to six members who modeled the Federal Open Market Committee’s deliberations. The team presented a recommendation for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy and engaged in a question-and-answer session with the judges. The team is coached by Professor Sandeep Mazumder, who also has taught Logan.

“Andrew is a fantastic student who is genuinely interested in understanding how the economy works and what real-world policy can do to improve the outcomes we expect,” Mazumder said. “His passion for economics is one of the strongest I’ve seen among all students I’ve taught in my time at Wake Forest.”

Although Logan is now widely regarded as an excellent mathematical economics student, it wasn’t always that way.

“As a freshman coming into Wake Forest, I wasn’t thinking I was going to be a mathematical economics major, because I didn’t really like math in high school,” Logan said. “I would encourage freshmen to take a wide variety of classes. Be flexible and open about what you want to study, because for instance, you may really love your math divisional.”

Although much of Logan’s Wake Forest career was altered by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was still an overwhelmingly positive one.

“I’ll always remember storming the court after we beat Duke in basketball,” Logan said. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget those memories.”