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Finance Students Visit Wall Street Firms

In March 2012, a group of 10 undergraduate finance students in NC State University’s Poole College of Management interested in careers on Wall Street headed to New York City on an exploratory trip.

“Many of these students – all members of the college’s Personal Finance Club – have an interest in financial consulting and investment banking,” Bill Sloan, instructor in finance and faculty advisor for the club, said in an email interview. “Given that many of the firms involved in these careers are headquartered in NYC, I believe this was a great opportunity for the students to gain valuable exposure through interviews that were pre-arranged with several companies.”

The students had the opportunity to meet with representatives from Oppenheimer, Accenture, Deloitte, Morgan Stanley, and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR).

“One of the goals that the students had going into the trip was to more clearly define what career path they wanted to pursue,” Sloan said. “Having talked at length with both investment banking and consulting personnel within these firms, they definitely returned to Raleigh with a better feel for which career choice was more compatible with their skills and interests.”

p.Maxwell Kangkolo, a senior majoring in finance and economics with a minor in international studies, was one of the students on the trip. He aspires to “go into the commodities trading business or consulting.”

He participated in the New York City trip “because New York is one of the financial capitals of the world. It gave me and others the opportunity to see firsthand the day to day activities of Wall Street.” What came away with is an understanding that “life on Wall Street is very demanding. You have to make sure that you appropriately structure yourself to have good balance in your life.”

The trip and his involvement in the Personal Finance Club has helped him to “increase my knowledge of financial topics and to meet more people with like interest.”

Expenses for the trip were covered by a student fundraiser, funds provided through the Poole Council, and the individual students contributions towards their expenses. “Anyone who attended Personal Finance Club meetings was made aware of the trip and anyone who wanted to go was welcome.”