A Northwood University alumna from Midland, Michigan, has been named one of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s Top Twenty Under Thirty Award Winners, a national recognition honoring rising leaders who advance the principles of liberty, opportunity, and free enterprise.
Kristin Tokarev, who dual-enrolled at Northwood while completing her K-12 education as a homeschooler in Midland, Michigan, has distinguished herself at a remarkably young age through her academic achievements and professional contributions. Today, she serves as a researcher, writer, and producer for Stossel TV with John Stossel, a high-profile American libertarian television presenter, author, and pundit. Tokarev helps create widely viewed videos and essays that champion freedom and challenge prevailing assumptions about government intervention.
Her unique perspective is shaped in part by her family’s history. Her father, Dr. Alexander Tokarev, associate professor of economics at Northwood University, grew up under socialism in Bulgaria. The Tokarev family continues to hold dual citizenship, spending summers in Bulgaria, which offers Kristin and her family continued firsthand awareness of the stark contrast between systems that limit human potential and societies that embrace liberty.
“This recognition highlights not only Kristin’s exceptional talent and drive but her dedication to advancing the principles of free enterprise,” stated Northwood Economics Chair Dr. Dale Matcheck. “As a dual-enrolled student, Kristin demonstrated a maturity and intellectual curiosity well beyond her years. Now, as a professional, her work with Stossel TV is amplifying the ideas of freedom to audiences around the world. We are proud to see her carrying forward the values she lived as a Northwood student into her professional life.”
Kristin Tokarev made the most of her time at Northwood, earning her undergraduate degree at age 19, and then two years later, her master of science in business analytics from the DeVos Graduate School at Northwood University. Outside of the classroom, she served as a student research scholar for the McNair Center for the Advancement of Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, a precursor to the present-day Northwood University Center for the Advancement of Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship.
“In nearly five decades at Northwood, I’ve had the honor of teaching and advising some of the brightest students and colleagues, many of whom have gone on to top graduate programs and leadership roles across the globe. Among them is Kristin Tokarev, a brilliant scholar with whom I’ve had the privilege to collaborate on research and public commentary,” stated Dr. Timothy G. Nash, Northwood Senior Vice President Emeritus and Director of the Northwood University Center for the Advancement of Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship.
Kristin Tokarev became affiliated with Stossel TV as a Northwood student who competed in multiple Stossel in the Classroom video contests (placing No. 2 nationally on two different occasions). Also as a student, she won first place in the Victims of Communism Foundation video competition and a national Constituting America contest. She began her production role with Stossel TV in 2023, and two years later, she was featured as an on-camera presenter in the Stossel TV report “What Socialist Influencers Get Wrong (Just About Everything).”
“Stossel TV has a very large and impressive audience,” explained Dr. Gabriel Benzecry, the David E. Fry Professor of Free Market Economics at Northwood University. “In fact just this week, John Stossel announced Stossel TV has reached 1 billion views, and the report he did with Kristin about socialist influencers has more than 1 million views across social media.”
Outside of her work with Stossel TV, Kristin Tokarev has authored and co-authored multiple essays for When Free to Choose, Northwood University’s signature publication dedicated to promoting the importance of free enterprise. Additionally, her work has been featured by the Independent Institute, Acton Institute, Ayn Rand Institute, American Institute for Economic Research, Townhall, Students for Liberty, The Detroit News and Midland Daily News (Hearst). Her inclusion on ISI’s Top Twenty Under Thirty represents the latest reflection of her commitment to the principles that define America’s Free Enterprise University.
