Many Notre Dame students go from campus to Wall Street each year, but this week, Wall Street is coming to campus.
The Notre Dame Wall Street Club is hosting a forum Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Jordan Auditorium of the Mendoza College of Business to introduce students to the variety of careers available on Wall Street.
The event is open to all students, but sophomores and juniors who are looking for internships on Wall Street are especially encouraged to attend, club co-president Nicole Gantz said.
Seniors Nicole Gantz, Jenny Walsh and Denver Lobo are co-presidents of the club and worked to organize the Wall Street Forum.
The event will feature panelists from large investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, CitiBank, Credit Suisse, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan.
Lobo said through this forum, the club hopes to expose students to a range of careers available on Wall Street.
"A lot of people have a misconception that Wall Street is only for investment banking, but there are actually a variety of other careers on the Street" Lobo said. "Our focus is to inform students about these different careers, whether they be in investment banking, sales and trading, asset management, hedge funds or private equity."
The Wall Street Forum is one in a series of events the club will sponsor this year.
Working closely with the Investment Office and the Career Center, the Wall Street Club will host mentoring sessions, interview workshops, business lectures and other networking opportunities for students throughout the year, Gantz said.
Lobo said such events are designed to prepare club members for the job search process.
"The point of these events is for students to learn how to network and get the exposure and practice of talking to potential employers," Lobo said. "The club hopes to get students internships and full-time positions on Wall Street."
The Wall Street Club, founded in 2010, also pairs underclassmen with senior student-mentors who have completed internships on Wall Street, Gantz said.
"We have 30 senior mentors that are paired with freshmen and sophomores so that they have someone as a frame of contact who has actually done a successful internship on Wall Street," Lobo said.
The club also connects students with young Notre Dame alumni working on Wall Street, Gantz said.
"Our database is a good resource for students to use to reach out to alumni working on Wall Street and get their questions answered," said Gantz. "It's a great way to engage alumni who are currently in Wall Street positions."
The Wall Street Club hopes to involve more students in its activities this school year, Gantz said.
"Our primary initiative this year is to bring in as many underclassmen as possible," Gantz said. "The business school is bringing in a lot of undergraduate students and we want them to be aware of the club early on in their college careers."
The club's officers are also interested in having more non-business majors join the club. "Increasingly, economics, engineering and science students are in demand on Wall Street," Lobo said. "We see that it's a big trend."
Gantz said the club is not only for those who are certain about a career on Wall Street.
"For those looking to get involved, you don't have to be absolutely sure you want to work on Wall Street," she said. "Come learn about the club and make your decision from there."
