Trip to Big Apple Inspires Big Dreams for Investment Club
March 28, 2018
Twelve students from the St. John Fisher College Investment Club got a taste of the exciting world of business and banking during a Spring Break trip to New York City’s Financial District.
The Club traveled with faculty advisor Dr. Patricia Wollan. In addition to attending the opening bell at NASDAQ, opened by 21st Century Fox, the students visited various tourist attractions in the city, including the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, Wall Street, ACC Basketball Tournament games, Central Park, and Times Square. Alumnus Michael Brown ’17 provided sponsorship support for the trip.
Students also had the opportunity to meet with Fisher alumnus Mike Duda ’93, managing partner at Bullish Inc. An accelerator agency, Bullish is both a strategic creative agency and consumer investment firm and deploys capabilities from both worlds to help brands speed the transformation of opportunities into outcomes.
Additionally, the group went to Credit Suisse and met alumnus Craig Leonard ’97, managing director, Investment Banking, Securitized Products. Leonard spoke about the role of a syndicate desk in investment banking, the necessary skills needed to succeed professionally, and gave a tour of the Fixed Income/Global Markets trading floor.
“It was great how this year a lot of us were using our free time in New York City to interview and network. We prepared extensively for the meetings too, which allowed us to ask impressive questions and get the most value out of our time,” said John Capozzola ’18, president of the club.
Corporate finance major Anthony DiLeo ’20 agreed.
“As a sophomore, this trip helped me gain insight on what I should be doing during my final years of college and for post-graduation,” he said. “Hearing the path taken by previous Fisher students who had similar aspirations as myself was an invaluable experience.”
Katie Sammon ’18, an accounting and finance student, also saw the trip as an important experience in her second year in the club.
“This trip was the perfect way to end my time here at Fisher. Talking to successful alumni inspired me and made me excited for the opportunities after graduation,” she said.
Upcoming events for Investment Club include the presentation of their annual Shareholder’s Report on Thursday, April 12. The executive student committee will report on the performance of the student-managed investment portfolio, give an overview of their professional activities, and speak to the strides they have made as a club throughout the academic year. Keith Smith, CFA, managing director at Empire Valuation Consultants, will serve as the event’s keynote speaker.