About

It was the lofty, yet utterly intriguing, conversations of the Austin Institute Summer Seminar back in 2022 that had ensnared the mind of Elyse Scheller and formally introduced her to the study of philosophy. She was confronted with thinkers she had never been exposed to and ideas she had never discussed- what is the human soul, what is human flourishing, how do we come to know truth? A budding love for philosophy coupled with a possible interest in economics, thanks to a beloved high school professor, led her to the University of Dallas, a liberal arts private Catholic college centered around classical philosophy and literature.

Uncertain about economics (and even more so after taking her first econometrics class), she began to question whether her love for philosophy could be remedied with her major in economics, or if it was time to put aside those invigorating conversations of the idealistic and conceptual and embrace something much more practical (and lucrative). However, as she progressed in her economics classes, she learned of the study’s humble origin in the Greek word oikonomia and both Aristotle and Aquinas’ view on the purpose of an economy (spoiler: the economy today is far from their ideal), of the claims on human nature underlying each economic theory and policy, and of the great ability of economics done well to boost man’s quality of life.

Elyse will be graduating in May 2027 with a Bachelor of Science in Economics along with a concentration in French and in International Studies, and she has discovered her interests within economics to include economics of the home and family, political economy, international economics, and history of economic thought. Because of her time at UD, her viewpoint as an economist has been shaped by Catholic Social Teaching, heterodox thinkers throughout economic history, and a firm belief that the study of economics does not need more unbiased thinkers to contribute to this amoral study, but rather it needs economists rooted in faith and strong morals to guide policies that allow for true human flourishing.