Darien Kearney is currently a Ph.D. student in economics at Howard University. He hopes to  write his dissertation on the impacts of traumatic experiences on utility maximization and  decision making. 

Darien started his academic journey at Sam Houston State University, where he earned a  Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Banking Services (double major) and a  Master of Business Administration in Finance. While at Sam Houston State University, he was  part of the student leadership boards for the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA)  and the Beta Alpha Psi National Honor Society (Kappa Mu Chapter), where he helped develop  fundraising opportunities to increase chapter revenue. 

Darien then pursued a Master of Science degree in applied psychology from the University of  Southern California, where he wrote his thesis on the trading behavior of retail traders in relation  to the meme stock frenzy. In his thesis, he analyzed how social media, market sentiment, and  cognitive biases influenced the investment decisions of individual investors under the guidance of Dr. Jorge Barraza. 

Darien also has a Master of Science degree in applied economics from Cornell University, where  he wrote his thesis on the relationship between emotional well-being and student loan debt. In his  thesis, he examined how different levels of student debt affect the happiness, confidence, and  worry of young adults under the guidance of Dr. Vicki Bogan. 

Darien is a native of Houston, Texas. He is passionate about advancing the field of economics  and contributing to the public good. He was a cohort member of the American Economic  Association Summer Program (AEASP), where he conducted research on the financial impacts  of well-being on young adults under the guidance of Dr. Neil R. Ericsson and Dr. Justin R.  Pierce of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He was also a mentee of the  Research in Color (RIC) 2021 cohort, where he explored the relationship between performance  and player utilization in the NBA under the guidance of Dr. Sarah Jacobson.