Undergraduate Spotlights

 Edward Allegra (Economics B.A., 2016)

Coming to SMU I was pursing Pre-Med major and my main focus was to become a doctor. During my sophomore year, I began working on some amazing research and later started a company from it, BioLum Sciences. We invented a mobile health device that could scan exhaled breath and determine the severity and presence of asthmatic stress, helping asthmatics to better monitor and manage their treatment programs.  I realized I would need a major and skill set that would provide me with the business acumen necessary for success. I began taking economics courses and realized this was something I was going to love and benefit from greatly.

My economics major helped shape me into the entrepreneur that I am today and I could not be more thankful for that. Whether I was learning about Money and Banking with Dr. John Duca or Behavioral Economics with Dr. Danila Serra, I was always finding new ways to apply this broad and applicable skill set to my business. One thing I cannot stress enough is the value of pursuing an education and finding new ways to make oneself better. There is always enough time in the day to run a business and receive an education, especially when your university is as helpful and supportive as SMU.

Valerie Grossman (Economics B.S., 2012)

Valerie graduated from SMU as a double major in Economics and Creative Advertising in 2012.  She started as a research assistant in the Globalization and Monetary Policy Institute at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, where she worked with Ph.D. economists on research related to globalization and its effects on U.S. monetary policy, assisted with policy briefings, contributed to peer-reviewed journal publications, and maintained several databases.  She was promoted to senior research analyst and then web content manager for the research department.  She now combines her expertise from her two SMU majors, economics and advertising, to help develop strategy and communicate the research department's goals to make sure that the economists' work is reaching an audience.

Sam Quinif (Economics B.S. with Financial Applications, 2012) 

Sam is currently an Investment Banking Associate in the Real Estate Financing Group at Goldman Sachs, responsible for sourcing, underwriting, and closing commercial real estate mortgages, then selling bonds that are backed by those mortgages.  On his education in economics: "Especially early in my career, my economics education has helped me see the forest through the trees--how the many inputs and variables come together to paint the big picture."