On March 4th, 2026, the Department of Economics held its annual awards ceremony. The Undergraduate Awards of Excellence in Economics event celebrated the achievements of undergraduates during the 2024-2025 academic year. The 28 awards had a total value of $37, 195.69 this year.
Third year Trinity College student Helen Zhao won the Safarian Scholarship in Economics. Endowed by the late Professor Ed Safarian, a member of the Order of Canada and a renowned policy expert, the award goes to an outstanding student in a Specialist program in Economics. Fourth year Trinity College student Helen Zhao, who is working on the Specialist in Economics and Mathematics program, and pairing it with a Statistics Major, won the award.
“Receiving the Safarian Scholarship in Economics is a great honour,” Zhao said. “It motivates me to keep pushing myself in economic research and quantitative analysis.”
Patricia Higgins was a special guest at the event. Higgins was instrumental in the creation of the Professor James Pesando Memorial Scholarships in Economics that is named in honour of her late husband. Professor Pesando was well known for his skillful teaching of first year economics courses, so it is fitting that the two awards go to students who were top performers in 100 level courses with preference given to those students in financial need.
This year, those students were third-year Victoria College student Ray Liu and third-year St. Michael’s College student Anirudh Patel.
The award will assist Patel as he pursues graduate studies.
“I’m primarily interested in research to evaluate and transform economic policies for the betterment of everyone,” said Patel. “I intend to pursue university studies up to the PhD level to prepare for a career in this direction.”
Winning the prize is helping Ray Liu stay motivated as he completes a very busy semester.
“I really appreciate the award’s recognition of my academic achievements,” he said. “And I will continue to work hard and explore academic research. My current research focus is numerical analysis and high-performance computing in finance and astrophysics.”
Recent Innis College alumnus Yunfei (Kevin) Wang won the Mary Child Scholarship in Economics. The award is made to the outstanding graduating student in an Economics Specialist program, based on performance in the courses required in the program. The scholarship was established in 1984 by Arthur Child, President and CEO of Burns Foods Limited.
Kevin Wang also won the Arthur Hosios Scholarship in Economics, a best paper prize, for his ECO499 essay about racial divisions and traffic stops. Co-authors Zhaoyi Wang, also a recent Innis alumna, and Yuwei Cai a 2025 alumnus of Woodsworth College, were runners up for their ECO419 paper examining what makes charging stations popular.
Victoria College student Elliott Gale-Wagner won the Smith Family Scholarship in Economic Policy. In addition to showing a strong academic performance, applicants for this unique award must also write a short essay analyzing a current economic policy issue. In his essay, Gale-Wagner examined the role a Land Value Tax could pay in addressing the housing crisis.
There were two winners of the Department of Economics Essay Prizes in Economic Policy. As part of the Smith Family Scholarship competition, the department holds an essay contest. In recognition of excellence in these submissions, the award was instituted to specifically recognize the students whose essays stand out for the quality of writing and the application of economics to an important question in public policy. The winners this year are Victoria College student Madelyn Bardell for her examination of universal daycare and University College student Mariana Garcia Mejia’s thoughts on the Canadian economy without US involvement.
The Mary Keenan Awards are made on the basis of academic merit, successful completion of the first year in the Faculty of Arts and Science, and enrolment in a Specialist program in Economics. Third year Victoria College student Renee Wang and third year Trinity College student Subhan Khan won this year.
Khan says the award will help him focus on his work moving forward.
“Winning the Mary Keenan Award is an honour and incredibly meaningful, especially as a Financial Economics Specialist student surrounded by so many talented peers,” said Kahn. “It is very meaningful to have my work in economics recognized, and it motivates me to keep pursuing the subject with the same curiosity and commitment that brought me here.”
Renee Wang also won one of the Nanda Choudhry Prizes in Economics. Established through a gift from the late Professor Emeritus Nanda Choudhry, the prize is awarded to two students in a Specialist program in Economics for their performance in at least two full 200 level courses for the year two award, and in at least two full Economics courses at the 300 or 400 level for the year three award.
Elva Wu won the third-year prize.
“It is a tremendous honour to receive this incredible award,” said fourth-year New College student Wu. “I am so thankful to have my hard work in my economics courses recognized in this way.”
Renee Wang won the second-year portion of the prize.
“Winning these awards were beautiful surprises, and the news came at the perfect time at the start of the winter semester, giving me an extra push to work hard in my courses,” said Wang. “I am really grateful to all the donors who made these awards possible, and to my professors and colleagues who have always inspired me with their knowledge and passion for economics.”
The Brian Mulroney Award was endowed by Gerry Schwartz and goes to the student who achieves the highest mark in ECO231H1 (Economics of Global Trade), ECO232H1 (Global Macroeconomics and Policies), HIS264H1 (Critical Issues in Canadian History) or POL214H1 (Canadian Government). Third year Trinity College student Alisha Aslam won.
“Winning the award really gave me the assurance that the macroeconomics areas in international relations were for me,” said Aslam. “These formed my favourite courses from last year, and I’m grateful that UofT and its Economics Department recognize the work its students do in these important fields. The world needs the passionate and talented individuals UofT produces, and I’m happy to be a part of the community.”
Fourth year Trinity College student and ESC learning assistant Aidan Schenk won both the Frederick G. Gardiner Scholarship in Economics and Political Science and the William T. Jackman Scholarship in Corporation Finance or in Transportation Economics. The Jackman Scholarship was established through a bequest from the late Mrs. W. T. Jackman in memory of her late husband, William T. Jackman, BA. (1896), M.A. (1900), who was a professor of Rural Economics and later Transportation Economics in the Department of Political Economy. The award is based on academic merit. The Gardiner Scholarship goes to an outstanding student enrolled in two of the following Major or Specialist programs: Economics, Political Science, and Public Policy. Schenk is both an Economics Major and a Public Policy Major.
“After graduating, I plan to pursue a master’s in public policy focused on evidence-based decision-making and implementation,” Schenk said. “I’m especially interested in how policies ripple to nearby stakeholders, and in using data and emerging technologies to evaluate real-world effects and improve outcomes.”
Lingxiao Li is also a double award winner. The third year Woodsworth student won the commemorative Alexander Mackenzie Scholarship in Economics that is given to a student enrolled in an Economics program who has completed at least two full courses in Economics in the session for which the award is made. He also won the Stefan Stykolt Scholarship in Economic Theory. Established in 1962 with a bequest from the late Stefan Stykolt, an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Toronto, this scholarship is awarded to an outstanding student in a Specialist or Major program in Economics who has completed ECO200Y1/204Y1/206Y1 and ECO202Y1/208Y1/209Y1.
“I’m truly honoured to receive these awards and thankful to the Department of Economics for the recognition,” said Lingxiao Li. “It inspires me to continue exploring economic and finance and to keep pushing myself academically.”
Another ESC learning assistant, Arielle Nelson, won the William G. Wolfson Scholarship in Economics. Endowed by Bill Wolfson, who taught the foundational courses ECO101H1, ECO102H1 and ECO200Y1, the scholarship is awarded to an outstanding student who has completed second year. Nelson is a fourth year Victoria College student who is majoring in both Economics with a Focus in Data Analytics for Economics and Spanish.
The Robert C. Douglas Public Finance Award was established in 2022 by Robert Douglas, a University of Toronto Economics alumnus. The award is given to an undergraduate student in an Economics program who has obtained the highest mark in Advanced Public Economics (ECO446H1). The winner was 2025 alumna Wendi Chen who graduated from Innis College with a Major in Economics, a Major in Human Biology and a Minor in Immunology. Chen has now started her career as an analyst at Sapling Financial Consultants Inc.
Robert C. Douglas is also the donor who founded the Robert C. Douglas Undergraduate Research Grant. The most recent recipient, Andrew Scutt, received a special mention at the ceremony. Scutt is a fourth year Innis College student enrolled in both the Psychology Research Specialist Program and the Economics Specialist with a Focus in Data Analytics Program with a minor in mathematics.
The Reza Satchu Award for Excellence in Economics was endowed by Reza Satchu, co-founder of “The Next 36,” Canada’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Initiative. For many years, Reza taught the very popular course, “The Economics of Entrepreneurship.” The award is made to an outstanding student graduating in Economics. This year, the winner was Ruoqi Xiao. Xiao graduated from University College in 2025 with her Major in Economics and Major in Statistics. She is now completing her MS in Biostatistics at Harvard.
The Donald Dewees Undergraduate Award honours Professor Emeritus Don Dewees, for his many years of service to the Economics Department. It is granted to students demonstrating excellence in Don’s areas of passion and expertise: the economic analysis of law, and the economics of energy and the environment. The winner is Jingyi Liu who is now pursuing an MPhil in Economics at the University of Oxford, focusing on Environment and Resource Economics. She graduated from Woodsworth College in 2025 with a Specialist in Economics and Finance.
The Jack L. Carr Scholarship was established through a gift from Professor Emeritus Jack Carr and his family. The scholarship is awarded to a student in either Rotman Commerce or the Department of Economics who achieves the highest mark in ECO209Y1 (Macroeconomic Theory and Policy for Commerce). The winner this year is fourth year Innis College student Sunny Chen.
“I hope to pursue a master’s in finance at Cambridge and build a career in investment research or asset management,” Chen said. “I am especially interested in combining quantitative analysis with long-term capital.”
Banker’s Scholarship in Economics was established with a gift from the Toronto-Dominion Bank, the Royal Bank of Canada, and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in 1891. It goes to the student with the highest standing in the intermediate macroeconomics course sequence. This year’s winner was Kirill Utyashev who is a third year St. Michael’s College student majoring in economics and computer science with a minor in statistics.
Hannah Wang, a fourth-year student at St. Michael’s College, won the Paul L. Nathanson Scholarship. The scholarship was established in memory of Paul Nathanson, who was the founder of the General Theatre Investment Company. It is awarded to an outstanding student whose program includes at least three full courses in Economics.
“I’m incredibly grateful that my hard work has been recognized through this award,” Hannah Wang said. “It motivates me to continue striving for excellence as I hope to return next year to pursue a master’s degree.”
The Ramsay Scholarship in Economics was funded through a bequest by the late William Ramsay of Bowland, Scotland. The scholarship is awarded to an outstanding student whose program of study includes at least three courses in Economics. This year, fourth year Innis College student Eli Easton received the award.
“Receiving the award came as a welcome surprise, and it was rewarding to be recognized for the time and effort that I put into my coursework,” Easton said. “Also, as a first-generation student who relies on financial aid like OSAP, the money attached to the award was really helpful in staying on top of my bills and ensuring that I can remain focused on my studies.”
Given in memory of Professor Noah Meltz who passed away in 2002, the Noah Meltz Undergraduate Award in Labour Economics goes to an outstanding undergraduate student in the third year course, ECO340H1, Labour Economics: The Distribution of Earnings. This year, that was Jordan Picheniuk who graduated in 2025 from Trinity College with an Economics Major with a Focus in Data Analytics and a History Major. He is now a student at the Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto.
To me, the Noah Meltz Award in Labour Economics is a reminder of the value of proof,” said Picheniuk. “Facts are fun, but quantitative proof is the only way to understand, and respond to, complex real-world problems.”
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