Outstanding Finance Graduate 2009 Recipient, Wall Street Journal Award Candidate, Certified Financial Analyst
"The Finance curriculum and our professors integrate course work with real-world applications. For example, Finance 418 - Financial Management III uses a case study approach that creates a valuable connection between academic principles and real financial situations. Our upper-level courses also require the use of the Bloomberg terminal and real-time data in the College's nationally recognized Soin Trading Room. Having gained the knowledge and the experience of using Bloomberg has provided me a competitive edge in the job market."
Why a Degree in Business?
I chose a business major after taking Econ 200 as a general education requirement my freshman year. The Professor inspired me to use knowledge of economics and business as a tool to evaluate real-world circumstances in a wide variety of business, social, government and ethical areas.
Tips for Success
Remain open-minded. While it is so easy to approach college with certain expectations, take your freshman year to explore a variety of courses and gain a better understanding of what exactly you enjoy. I entered college as a political science major. After several courses, I understood that being a poli-sci major was not who I really was. A willingness to discover new interests will make your freshman year a great experience. Having worked with high-school students for the past four years, I would say that students come to college expecting to achieve great things. A business major can help you achieve your dreams because it opens doors to such a broad variety of careers in the private and non-profit sectors.
Leadership
During summer breaks from WSU I manage a private non-profit swim club, Oak Creek Swim Club. The organization has 400 permanent family members and an additional 75 temporary memberships. The position involved managing and scheduling a staff of 25+ high school and college students, organizing social events, swim lessons and customer service responsibilities. Recent employer surveys indicated that employers who hire Raj Soin College of Business graduates’ value their maturity, work ethic and ability to begin contributing on day one. With my academic and work experience, I hope to continue that reputation.
Career Plans
I currently plan to attend graduate school and move on the obtain a PhD in Finance. Currently, I am a candidate to receive my Certified Financial Analyst™ designation.
Most valuable experience
Collaborating with fellow students to deliver group projects have been essential to building my communication effectiveness and teamwork skills. And by far the courses I have taken in investment and portfolio management were the most beneficial to the goals I hope to achieve in the finance profession.
