Week on Wall Street
Elizabeth Kussy `02
Issue date: 2/13/01 Section: Viewpoints
Imagine a swarm of Johnson School students cramming themselves onto a New York City subway in anticipation of arriving at the next Wall Street Firm on their list. One of the wonderful benefits of participating in the Investment Banking Immersion is the one-week field trip to New York City that started on January 13th. Organized and led by Professor Hass, the Week on Wall Street was a huge success. The firms included on the itinerary were JP Morgan Chase, Salomon Smith Barney, UBS Warburg, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse First Boston, TD Securities and Lehman Brothers. If that list isn't impressive enough, the array of speakers included major players in each firm. We heard speeches from Sandy Weill, CEO of Citigroup, as well as from numerous Managing Directors who have lead some of the biggest banking deals on Wall Street. At each firm we had the opportunity to speak with people who were involved with real Investment Banking deals through presentations and Q&A sessions.
Not only did we meet and speak with representatives from Investment Banking but also people from Research, Asset Management and Capital Markets groups. Goldman Sachs actually split us up into groups for hands-on learning experiences with different areas of the firm. At Salomon Smith Barney, two divisional heads from the Sales and Trading Division spoke to us about their experiences (and maybe even sold their career choice to a few of the students). And to top it all off, most firms hosted some sort of reception or sit down meal with members of the Firms in which we could ask all those questions we were too embarrassed to ask in front of the entire Immersion Class.
Reflecting on the week's educational content, I think we all gained from learning about what others in our class are interested in outside of our own focused career path. We learned how the various parts of an Investment Bank work together as well as the differences between each firm. We certainly gained a deeper knowledge of the components of putting together Investment Banking deals and the huge amount of effort and time involved in each one of them. And as for the career search, it was a great opportunity to learn more about the firms we are interested in pursuing our summer internships at. For a lucky handful that interviewed during that week, some came back to school with offers in hand. For the rest, the week certainly was a fantastic precursor to meeting with these companies again during on-campus interviewing. It was truly an amazing experience for students ranging from those who once worked on Wall Street to those who have only seen it in the movies.
Not only did we meet and speak with representatives from Investment Banking but also people from Research, Asset Management and Capital Markets groups. Goldman Sachs actually split us up into groups for hands-on learning experiences with different areas of the firm. At Salomon Smith Barney, two divisional heads from the Sales and Trading Division spoke to us about their experiences (and maybe even sold their career choice to a few of the students). And to top it all off, most firms hosted some sort of reception or sit down meal with members of the Firms in which we could ask all those questions we were too embarrassed to ask in front of the entire Immersion Class.
Reflecting on the week's educational content, I think we all gained from learning about what others in our class are interested in outside of our own focused career path. We learned how the various parts of an Investment Bank work together as well as the differences between each firm. We certainly gained a deeper knowledge of the components of putting together Investment Banking deals and the huge amount of effort and time involved in each one of them. And as for the career search, it was a great opportunity to learn more about the firms we are interested in pursuing our summer internships at. For a lucky handful that interviewed during that week, some came back to school with offers in hand. For the rest, the week certainly was a fantastic precursor to meeting with these companies again during on-campus interviewing. It was truly an amazing experience for students ranging from those who once worked on Wall Street to those who have only seen it in the movies.