M.A. Alumni Spotlights

Kyle Hurysz: From Econ MA to Disability Advocacy Work

For our latest Alumni Spotlight, I sat down with Kyle Hurysz (2022) to discuss his time in the MA Economics program.  Kyle is from Albany, New York. He graduated from Edinboro University (now known as Penn West) for his undergrad, t, with degrees in Economics and Political Science – Legal Studies (concentration) and minors in Mathematics, Applied Math, and Data Analytics. During his undergraduate degree, Kyle was also a member of the Student Government. As the Vice President of Procedure, in which he verified that the organization was following its constitution, bylaws, and financial procedures; this helped to spark his interest in law.  “I was always interested in law, and this was the first experience I had to learn about compliance and rules and regulations,” explains Kyle. He also worked on the school board during his time as a student. Originally intending to go into public office, he realized that many people in government do not know much about economics. “I wanted to learn more about economics as a result, and then realized it was actually something I enjoyed.”  Torn between attending law school or getting a Ph.D. in Economics, Kyle decided first to go for an MA to understand better what he wanted to do. Accepted into the program during COVID-19, Kyle decided to take a gap year first. “I knew this program would be extremely intense, so I wanted to wait to do it in person,” explained Kyle. To prepare, Kyle took more advanced quantitative-focused classes as an undergrad, despite having enough credits to graduate already. He recalls his school being confused, “Are you sure? You can graduate! They said.”  However, this proved helpful, knowing the rigor of the program. For Kyle’s gap year, he took more classes in applied math and data analytics to help prepare, calling his courses in differential equations, applied financial math, and scientific programming a “fun-filled year full of math.” Taking time to brush up on his math skills was something that he recommends for all prospective and future students. “If you are in college and know you want to do this, go through your course catalog and take the hardest math classes. For entering students, prepare by reviewing algebra, calculus, real analysis, statistics, and anything else math-related in undergrad. Professors will just expect you to know it going in, so be diligent,” says Kyle. 

Columbia 

Kyle entered Columbia in 2021, following the completion of his gap year. Despite “brutal winters,” he enjoyed the campus, noting that “it’s cool being somewhere with so much going on.” When the weather was nice, he enjoyed wandering around Morningside Heights. Academics-wise, one thing that stood out to him was the responsiveness of the professors, “I never felt like anyone was beyond helping others.” His favorite class was Economic Policy Analysis, taught by Professor Dan O’Flaherty. Kyle calls him “not just a brilliant economist, but also very funny, which made class very engaging and enjoyable.” “After taking three semesters of really challenging and abstract courses, Economic Policy Analysis was refreshingly concrete,” Kyle also notes, encouraging a diversity of courses within the program, “some with more of a real-world analysis, not just abstract.” Regarding the student body, he notes that everyone was “extremely nice and helpful.”  Another aspect that Kyle enjoyed was the program’s flexibility, especially the thesis, where you can work with faculty and tailor your research based on your interests.  Kyle’s thesis, “A Historical and Contemporary Analysis of Global Legal Institutions and Their Effects on Regional Economies,” combined law and economics due to his two interests and his desire to go to law school.  “I skim through it sometimes and can’t believe I wrote this. That amount of work is really rewarding – to put that much effort into it and see that result.” Kyle also worked as a teaching assistant, teaching an upper-level Economics course in monetary policy and banking during his time at Columbia, calling it “a really great place to teach.””It was a great experience because people genuinely wanted to be there, learn, and ask questions.” Additionally, Kyle was a member of our student organization, MESA, which he calls a “good outlet to enjoy time with your cohort and all that the city has to offer.” The student group planned several events, with many focused on professional development.  “Alumni engagement and career prep, through Alumni Panels, were also great ways to connect with people in the industry,” he adds.

Disability Advocacy Work

Kyle is currently working on launching a new nonprofit in the summer of 2024, the National Coalition for Disabled Students. He is co-founding with his friend Leah TenEyck, a current Columbia student in Cognitive Science, graduating in 2025. “Our goal is to support students with disabilities on college campuses throughout the United States, providing resources and targeted solutions to advocacy issues students face,” explains Kyle.  Kyle believes universities have many opportunities to expand their accessibility and make themselves more available to potential students. However, students are not aware of these issues until they’re here.  A significant aspect that they’re trying to change in disability advocacy is continuity. For instance, “Student X comes and goes and leaves all the institutional knowledge they’ve attained by the wayside. No one knows about these issues until they’re here and have classes and extracurriculars, and then they’re graduating,” he adds. As a result, they could possibly standardize procedures and make them the same across the lines to increase accessibility. They are currently talking to students and stakeholders to discuss issues students are facing. Reception from administrators has also been positive and productive, saying that they are “eager to improve disability accommodations.” “Once we have a better understanding of issues students are facing, we will take this to university officials and look for potential solutions,” with the goal of officially launching in summer 2024. They are hoping to work closely with student groups in the future to help with their disability advocacy. Kyle explained that the goal is to ultimately work with all institutions, but they are starting with Columbia University, as they know it best. Moreover, Columbia also has issues with accessibility due to it being an older institution. “Columbia is older than the United States, so its accessibility is limited because of its physical infrastructure,” explains Kyle, “therefore, focusing on areas that we can actually impact is the most important,” he adds.  “A lot of times, we focus on getting people into buildings, but do we have ways for people to open doors? Do we have accessible restrooms? Do we have accessible classrooms– those are other important questions.” To advocate for change, “we are trying to get universities to understand this as an investment strategy. Changes will lead to more revenue by attracting more students.”

Looking Forward

While Kyle plans on starting law school next fall, he is unsure of his plans after law school.  He credits his background in Economics for helping prepare him for law, based on the commonalities between the fields.”I wanted to go from Econ to Law because both are based on decision-making in the face of scarcity and the allocation of resources, but while Econ is fairly abstract, law offers a practicality to genuinely improve people’s lives,” he explained.  We are excited to see Kyle’s achievements and to learn of his future work to help make Columbia and other universities more inclusive to all. Thank you for sitting down and chatting with us, Kyle!