Recently, as a member of the MBA Finance Association, I had an opportunity to attend the Smeal Wall Street Initiative at the Princeton Club in New York City. This initiative was created in 1999 as a way for Penn State alumni who work on Wall Street to connect with other alumni and help strengthen ties with the University. Our membership sought to get involved with the event so we could share our experiences in the MBA program while having an forum to network with alumni working in the New York City area.
The event started out with a cocktail reception where my classmates and I had the chance to speak with alumni from many top firms, including Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Bear Sterns, Pfizer, and others. All of the alumni were very open to sharing their experiences and providing points of contact for conversations after the event. It was also a great opportunity to start building relationships with those on Wall Street to help in the career search.
After the reception, there was a very informative presentation centered around the Trading Room and specifically, the Nittany Lion Fund. This fund, a $5 million student-managed investment portfolio has had a great performance thus far and they were seeking new investors for additional growth.
Overall, the event was a great opportunity for us as MBA students to get out to Wall Street and interact with the firms who place a high emphasis on Finance careers while also giving us some time to speak with others who are looking to eventually pursue an MBA degree.
MBA Class of 2008
Before coming to Smeal, George worked for nearly four years in the Financial Services sector with MBNA and Bank of America holding various positions that focused on leadership, strategy, and operations. He holds a BS degree in Operations and Info Sys Mgmt from Penn State and is currently focusing on Corporate Financial Analysis and Planning in his second year.