Wall Street Fellows — a Great Networking Opportunity for Sophomore Finance Majors

Emily Tsiolas '20, a finance major and sustainability studies minor, talks about her experience with the Wall Street Fellows program. Wall Street Fellows is currently accepting applications for coursework beginning in spring 2019. Each of the other 11 fellows programs will open applications in early December for coursework beginning in fall 2019.

Why Wall Street Fellows?

As a finance major, I wanted to make sure I was taking advantage of all the opportunities available to me at Smith. I heard about the Wall Street Fellows Program when I was a freshman before I was even admitted into the business school and knew I wanted to be involved in it because of the incredible resources and networking that came with it. The program has also given me knowledge about the world of finance I would not have received in any other class. I think it’s hard for college students to know what they want their major to be let alone what they want to do for the rest of their life, but through this program I decided I definitely wanted to go into finance and was even able to narrow down which division by receiving an in-depth understanding about all of them throughout the Wall Street Fellows specific course. In addition, Julie Pavlovsky, the faculty champion for the program, was absolutely amazing and more than willing to help me through all of my interviews.

What is unique about the program?

One of the perks of Wall Street Fellows is the New York networking trip. My cohort and I traveled to Manhattan in March and visited a handful of banks including JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Bank of America and Citi. At each bank, we toured their trading floor and received a taste of their culture, which is one of the most important things I noted during the trip to take into consideration when deciding between future potential offers. We met many UMD alums everywhere we went and grew our network even further during a networking event Julie organized at a restaurant in Manhattan. I still stay in touch with the Terps I met and may have never received the chance to meet them if it weren’t for WSF.

Did you have an internship? A job offer?

Through Wall Street Fellows I was exposed to an extensive professional network of accomplished UMD alumni and was presented with a wide array of potential professional development opportunities. By leveraging my network and applying to the opportunities I found through the program, I was accepted to several insights programs banks offer to sophomore students, one of them being Morgan Stanley's Womens’ Program. While I was there I learned an incredible amount about their culture, programs and career paths and participated in interviews during the second day. After completing the program in April 2018, I received an offer to join the Summer 2019 Institutional Equities Sales & Trading Internship Program and accepted.

Did you ever talk about WSF in an interview?

Recruiters and interviewers love to see candidates who are involved in professional development programs and having the words “Wall Street” spelled out on a sophomore’s resume is definitely an eye-catcher. I participated in several interviews and WSF came up in every single one. Interviewers always wanted to know more and were impressed by the fact that I was taking initiative and growing my network at a young stage in my college career. I think that one of the main attributes interviewers and recruiters look for in college candidates is a hunger to learn more about the financial services industry and joining WSF has taught me just that. 

Students in one of the Smith School’s many one-year fellows programs join a cohort of like-minded peers to engage in an intense study of a specific area of business, ranging from major-specific topics such as finance and supply chain to general interests such as sports management or global consulting.

Out-of-the-classroom and reality-based learning experiences are at the forefront of the fellows programs. Whether through special speakers, workshops, site visits, case competitions, or networking events with corporate partners and Smith alumni, students gain practical insights into the business community.

Small class sizes in reserved fellows sections of business courses are a hallmark of all fellows programs, facilitating strong working relationships among fellows students and the faculty who advise and teach in the programs. Students engage, explore, and experience the Smith community through fellows!

Frequently asked questions about the fellows program.