Evelyn (Evie) Morris has received the Economics Department’s annual award for the 2020 Best Undergraduate Major. Evie, a Morehead/Cain Scholar, is one of our most inquisitive and accomplished Economics seniors whose achievements extend beyond academics. In her honors thesis, Evie bridged economic theory and data by empirically investigating the influence of health and health history on fundamental decision-making attributes such as risk aversion, discounting, and expectations about longevity.
Evie’s interest in foundational economic thinking led her to develop and teach a course to undergrads on the history of economic thought through the C-START program at Carolina. She also served as a research assistant for Kenan-Flagler’s Prison Business Education Initiative and a teaching assistant in an Elements of Politics class. For over two years, she actively volunteered at Enrich ELL as an English Language Facilitator and Co-Chair where she helped adult immigrants practice English. As an Arete Fellow, she helped to build the Effective Altruism movement on campus. Evie helped organize the first Bike to Strike for climate action and represented UNC by participating in the UN Climate Change Conference in Spain in December 2019. If that is not enough, she also competed for the Club Water Polo team and the Club Triathlon team.
Evie’s coursework and her experiences outside the classroom have helped define her next steps after graduation: additional research experience at Brown University before pursuing an advanced degree.