The Michigan State University Department of Economics is pleased to announce that they have selected Denis Selyuzhitsky as 2025 Outstanding Senior. Denis is an economics and mathematics double major with a minor in history and social science quantitative data analytics from Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
“It’s a big honor, and something I’m very happy to have earned!” Denis said.
Looking back on choosing economics as their major, Denis reflected that they became an econ major out of circumstance.
“I wanted to do something that combined my interests in history and math, and something that was applicable to the real world,” they reflected. “As it turns out, I like economics enough to get a PhD in it now!”
After graduation, Denis plans to attend graduate school, but is still deciding which PhD program they’ll call home for their next academic chapter.
During their time at MSU, Denis has worked as president of Math Club and Econ Club for the past year and has served on the eboard for both clubs since their sophomore year.
“I really enjoyed creating connections and creating events to have people within the majors meet each other!”
Denis has also been involved with research in the department. They started as a research assistant for Dr. Jeff Wooldridge, where they learned about econometrics and causal inference research. Then, they took EC499 with Dr. Prahbat Barnwal, where they researched and wrote about the Russo-Ukrainian war. They are currently doing an independent study with Dr. Hugo Freeman about a high-dimensional extension of a post-selection inference framework.
“My favorite course I've taken has been labor with Todd (Elder),” they said. “Although I love econometrics, it sometimes feels like statistics that's a bit distant from actual economics. Todd has been an excellent and super engaging professor, and the material in his courses has answered a bunch of questions I've had about economics since high school.”
When looking back on their most significant memories, Denis enjoyed traveling to Chicago and Detroit with the Econ Scholars and attending the Econometrics seminars.
“Seeing how I slowly understood more and more from repeatedly attending and learning about econometrics has made me feel more confident about my econometrics knowledge,” they said.
“We chose Denis as our outstanding senior because of their high scholastic achievement, involvement in research and dedication to their peers through taking part in clubs and events,” said Professor Steven Haider, chair of the MSU Department of Economics.
As Denis prepares to graduate and begin their next chapter, they also have advice for undergraduates:
“Take as many 400 levels as you can,” they advised. “I found that I learned most about economics from taking 400 level courses with a bunch of professors. I also recommend taking some empirical courses such as EC242, EC422, and EC499 so you can work with data, a skill that is crucial for everyone.”
To learn more about majoring in economics, visit econ.msu.edu.