Growing up, Kiana Pouyat always loved her math classes. She found comfort in knowing that, unlike in her humanities classes, there was only one solution, and that if she put enough effort into a problem, it would work itself out.
When Pouyat was deciding which college to attend, Wake Forest did not initially seem like the obvious answer. But after her dad encouraged her to apply and visit, she had a “gut feeling” that it was the right place for her.
“I ended up deciding during my tour during admitted students weekend that I was going to go to Wake Forest,” Pouyat said. “It just had everything I was looking for.”
When deciding her major, she knew she wanted to follow the business path, but still wanted to take the math classes she enjoyed. Rather than choose a major with strict credit requirements that would not allow this, Pouyat chose mathematical economics because of its flexibility and combination of math and business courses.
She also appreciated how the flexibility of her major allowed her to study abroad in Barcelona, Spain, where she completed a minor in contemporary global studies. She said she traveled to 20 new cities and was very thankful for the experiences that gave her a broader scope of life beyond Wake Forest’s campus.
Pouyat said one of the most important things she learned as a mathematical economics major was how to collaborate effectively with others.
“A lot of our classes are super collaborative within the mathematical economics major, and especially once you get to your junior and senior year, you’re taking classes with the same kids,” Pouyat said. “It’s a really close-knit major. I really love working with everyone and studying with them outside of class as well.”
Though many of her required courses were challenging, Pouyat appreciated how they encouraged her to persevere.
“For some classes, I feel like I had to learn a whole different language and sometimes it was really challenging,” Pouyat said. “It really taught me to keep working hard, go to office hours, ask for help and figure it out. I really enjoyed that.”
Pouyat said her public finance class, taught by Professor Koleman Strumpf, was pivotal to her future career interests. Through discussing the intersection between the economy and public policy, she gained a newfound interest in the government’s impact on the economy.
“At our age, you’re coming up with your own identity and opinions,” Pouyat said. “And I think that it was such an interesting class to help me learn more about what was going on in the world.”
After graduation, Pouyat will return to Chicago to work at Northern Trust. While she is scared to step outside the Wake Forest bubble and leave the community she has formed, she is eager to open herself up to more life experiences.
“When I was a senior in high school, I felt like I knew so much,” Pouyat said. “Now, I want to be a sponge to everybody and everything, and learn as much as I can. Especially after doing internships, I’ve learned there’s so much that you don’t know and don’t learn in your classes. You really learn hands-on.”
Pouyat is thankful for her family, including her parents, aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents. She said she is especially grateful that her parents pushed her to choose Wake Forest.
