The Department of Economics is delighted to announce that economics major Sam Colgan has been named a recipient of the 2019-2020 President’s Medalist Award. Because of the current pandemic, University President Ana Mari Cauce was not able to hold a reception to celebrate Sam and his fellow honorees. Instead, each recipient received their medal, along with a message from President Cauce and a special celebratory gift, at their home. Sam received the Junior Medal, given to a senior based on the previous year’s records.
The President’s medal awardees are selected by a committee that evaluates the students’ GPA, rigor of classes, and number of honors classes taken in all previous quarters. Students do not apply for this award; it is meant to celebrate the top student in each class.
Junior Medal recipient Sam Colgan chose to study economics because he wanted to learn more about the inequity he saw throughout the Seattle area, especially in regards to the causes and consequences of things like gentrification, and homelessness. Sam has focused his research around early Seattle history, in an effort to understand how things like redlining and gentrification have affected the class and race dynamics of the city.
As a double major in English, Sam has been able to apply his economic findings to his own background and the stories of others. In this way, he is able to analyze his empirical research in concert with the anecdotal evidence he has collected from his own life and others.
After graduation, Sam plans to pursue a graduate degree in economics. Please join us in congratulating Sam Colgan on this achievement!
For more information on the awardee and the other awardees, please visit this article Celebrating the 2019–20 President’s Medalists.