Serving Others

Pooja Madhav

10-29-2024

Sydney Keenan, a research analyst at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, attributes growing up with parents who worked at a community health center as what drew her into the world of public service. Using her Master’s of Economics from the Daniels School, she has built a career path rooted in practical applications of microeconomics and fiscal policy.

Keenan began her economics program as an undergraduate at the Daniels School, studying applied mathematics and economics and exploring her career path. With so many options and her strong desire to help others, she wasn't sure how her future would unfold. 

A strong interdisciplinary foundation from her undergraduate studies, coding and analytical skills from her Purdue economics courses, and a comprehensive grasp of economic theory helped Keenan secure an internship with the Congressional Research Service (CRS) in Washington, D.C.

"I was doing research within the Library of Congress to help members of the House and Senate make informed decisions. That was my first internship where I truly felt, 'This is what I want to do,'" recalls Keenan.

Keenan valued her time at CRS. “I loved being in a non-partisan environment where the goal was to find information and educate people on how to make the best possible decisions based on facts and data,” she explains.

During her junior year at Purdue, Keenan recalls a conversation that shifted her perspective. "I was sitting outside a professor’s office when a student mentioned he was part of the 4+1 program. That’s when I first heard about this great opportunity," she says.

"Why start over elsewhere when you're already here, with established connections and ongoing research?" Keenan considered when she weighed her graduate school options. The 4+1 program would help fast-track her career and allow her to stay connected to the Purdue community.

Most public policy professionals hold a graduate degree, and Keenan’s early attainment of both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree gave her a head start and set her up to secure her growth confidently and consistently in a field where higher education is the norm.

For Sydney, earning two degrees consecutively wasn't just about education — she was equipping herself to help others. Through economics, she aspires to improve the well-being of Americans through data analytics and research-driven policy. Her journey is a testament to how a strong foundation in economics and a driving passion can empower individuals to effect real change and serve their nations.

Today, Sydney’s work in public policy involves working with a close-knit team, where collaboration is key. Unlike the large corporate structures many imagine, her government role requires working with a small, specialized group of individuals, each focused on tackling specific community issues. The reward of public service jobs like Keenan’s is the impact she makes.

Like other professionals in public service, Keenan possesses strong analytical skills, along with a keen understanding of economics and public policy. On a day-to-day basis, she might scrape and analyze data, write memos, or edit a colleague’s work, giving her role a varied cadence.

As a generalist at the Treasury, Sydney is currently focused on microeconomics and researching how policies impact local economies. Unlike macroeconomics, which focuses on whole economies and how they interact, microeconomics includes the study of how people or organizations make choices about allocating resources. For Keenan, housing is one area that fascinates her. She’s also delved into topics like pandemic relief programs and Social Security and Medicare.

Keenan has returned to Purdue to share her unique path and insights on public policy on more than one occasion. As a public servant early in her career, she doesn’t have deep financial resources to offer as an alumni donation, “but I can give something else — my experience," she shares.