How Did You Get Your Start?

Going into college, I didn't think finance or investment banking was the path for me. I was focused on the pre med track with aspirations to be an orthopedic surgeon (sound familiar?).

During COVID, I realized that the pre med track may not be right for me and beginning my career so late in life was not as appealing. With everything going on in the stock market at that time, as well as engaging more with news and business concepts, my interest was piqued by finance as a career path.

When I was a freshman and sophomore, Investment Banking was the kicking off point for those who wanted to be in the finance industry. Private equity, hedge funds and other finance roles are giving undergrads more opportunity now than even a few years ago. I think this allows some undergraduates to take a bit more of a personalized view to recruiting than following the IB path, which isn’t a right fit for some.

I started at UCLA, and transferred to UVA. When I was at UCLA, I was in a competitive finance club that had a lot of extremely successful undergrads. 

Through a lot of cold emailing and mentorship, I was lucky enough to get an internship at an investment bank in California my freshman year and worked there for 6 to 7 months. It was a great intro into what the role would be like full time. 

The regular recruiting timeline kicks off second year at UVA, which involves a heavy amount of networking and interview prep.

Through various experiences in finance and guidance of older students, I was lucky enough to land a full time role at Lazard in the healthcare group.