12th Annual USWIB Conference: Dare to Begin (2023)
BY KATE CARBALLIDO, MARIANA DEL RIO, ELENA HUANG, SCARLETT KNIZNIK, ELYSE LADIA, SANA SINGH AND IRIS ZHAO
For the first time in three years, USWIB held our flagship event fully in person. The theme this year was “Dare to Begin”and it serves as a reminder to attendees that every vision they have for their career is attainable when tackled with passion and determination. Throughout the day, attendees had the chance to attend over 12 different sessions, network with women from over 20 firms, and meet over 90 inspiring and successful women. Keep reading to get a recap of the event, and if you are in 2024 (or 2025, 2026, 2027 etc) and are wondering if you should register, YOU SHOULD!
For the opening ceremony of the USWIB conference, Ashika Kalra, a NYU Stern alum, spoke to our attendees about her path to discovering her passion and the connections and lessons she picked up along the way. Not only was Ashika’s story inspiring, but there was also something moving about seeing over 100 girls gathered together in the same room, undoubtedly with similar dreams, goals and aspirations. Throughout the day, we would all have the chance to network with some of the biggest firms in the world.
10:00 AM - BREAKOUT SESSION I
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10:00 AM - BREAKOUT SESSION I ~
In this session, four panelists, Sadie Ravnitzky (Investment Banking Analyst-Guggenheim), Elyssa Keane (Accounting Policy Research Sr. Analyst-Global Atlantic), Abbie Zhu (Institutional Markets Analyst-Global Atlantic), and Sabrina Romansky (M&A Consultant-West Monroe), described their networking and recruiting experiences. Some of their key advice was to conduct research on the person and their food prior to the chat and to be as genuine as possible when networking – although it is important to stay professional, people are more likely to connect with you when you’re sincere in your interactions.
For the EY session, attendees learned how to develop a good personal brand, what to include on a professional resume, networking skills and internship opportunities at EY. The speaker, Eleni Athanasiou (Talent Attraction Recruiter - EY) discussed the reality of how networking can sometimes be uncomfortable, but it is necessary to put yourself out there and get opportunities.
In the GCM session, the panelists included Shana Johnson, an Executive Director who also sits on GCM’s DEI committee, and Hope Kessler, a private equity analyst. Shana detailed their careers leading up to working at GCM and tips on how to break into the industry through leveraging different skill sets,
as well as described how GCM prioritizes ESG and DEI, including Shana’s experience on the DEI committee encourage more women and women of color to join the field.
In this session, seven panelists, Debra Chieco (Investment Banking Analyst-UBS), Beinuo Gong (Equity Derivatives Structurer-UBS), Joseph Ferenchiak (University Relations Lead-Vanguard), Lauren Walmsley (Early Talent Attraction Lead), Vincent Coghill (Investment Banking Associate-Wells Fargo), Radhika Mukerji (Senior Finance Associate-Prudential), and Sarah Slocum (Senior Investment Analyst-Prudential), spoke about advice they would give their younger selves at the start of their career. Some of this advice included applying for multiple jobs, the importance of networking, and reminding students to be aware of the dangers of comparison and imposter syndrome.
11:00 AM - Breakout session II
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11:00 AM - Breakout session II ~
In this session, four panelists, Sarah Slocum (Senior Investment Analyst-Prudential), Rachel Wu (Analyst-Point72), Grace DelBuono (Senior Finance Associate-Prudential) and Nisha Honnaya (Investment Analyst-Vanguard), described their recruiting experiences, their day-to-day work, the technical skills and knowledge that are important for their jobs, how their interview experiences were, their favorite and least favorite aspects, the characteristics and traits they think are important as women in finance, and their biggest pieces of advice for those who are recruiting soon. Yes, a lot to learn!
In this UBS session, the panelists included Megan Mullaney, Catherine Lucero, Natalie Christopoul, Sara Luster, Anna O’Keefe, Christie Henriquez, and Sheila Chery. After an introduction on UBS, the panelists discussed how to find your personal brand or value proposition. Our favorite piece of advice they gave was that everyone can be nervous during interviews or self introductions but never say “I’m nervous.” Instead, turn the nervousness into determination and excitement.
In this session, the five panelists, Carrie Gong (Advisory Sr. Consultant-Deloitte), Jojo Du (Advisory Sr. Consultant-Deloitte), Danielle Even (Principal-GCM Grosvenor), Shana Johnson (Executive Director-GCM Grosvenor), and Amanda Barkley (Investment Banking Associate-Guggenheim Partners) talked in detail about how mentorship has shaped them throughout college, their life and careers. The panelists shared advice from how to find the right mentor, the difference between a mentor and a sponsor, and how to make the mentor-mentee relationship a two-way street.
This session was a roundtable of six panelists, Annie Wang (Advisory Sr. Associate-PwC), Priya Kamdar (Manager-PwC), Sucheta Bose (Public Finance Associate-Bank of America), Olivia Lee (Public Finance Analyst-Bank of America), Lauren Longo (Senior Consultant-West Monroe), and Michelle Flores Garcia (DE&I Analyst-Global Atlantic). These professionals discussed the importance of diversity in the workplace, the various support systems their companies respectively have, battling imposter syndrome, and where companies still need to improve.
In this session, the panelists, Danielle D’ambrosio (Head of U.S. Real Estate Debt Asset Management-Barings), EJ Gunn (Associate Director, Capital Solutions- Barings), Quinn Smeaton (Campus Recruiter -Macquarie), and Joseph Hedburg (Managing Director-Wells Fargo), provided students with a variety of networking tips. From a recruiter perspective, Quinn shared advice like personalizing your emails if sending them to many people from the same firm, and taking advantage of the LinkedIn About and Endorsements section to share more about your skills and story.
1:00 PM - Breakout session III
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1:00 PM - Breakout session III ~
In the Bank of America session, the two panelists, Lauren Helms (campus recruiter-NYU) and Regina Aguilar (Analyst in ESG Capital Markets team), provided a detailed overview of capital markets, including the products the bank covers and the daily work. Regina explained the process of determining which products are eligible for a green bond and the increasing prioritization of sustainability in capital markets today. Lauren gave a helpful and in-depth overview of Bank of America’s recruiting process and the types of opportunities they provide.
In this interactive session, the professionals began by highlighting the importance of understanding different communication styles and proceeded to administer a Communication Styles quiz to the attendees, and wrapped up by giving an overview of the four major styles of communication found in the workplace. In their presentation, they emphasized that people’s behaviors are not random and relate closely to their dominant or preferred communication styles. Additionally, communication styles are not fixed and they evolve with time. Knowing your communication style helps you understand others better and it can be a tool to help you interact with others.
In this interactive Deloitte session, the three panelists were Carrie Gong (Advisory Sr. Consultant), Sam Zhong (Tax Consultant I) and Meghan Sahay (Advisory Specialist Sr.). These three panelists talked about their experiences using Excel everyday and then taught us how to clean data, how to visualize data (using PivotTable and PivotChrts), and how to transfer data (using V, H and X LookUp). This crash course in excel was so helpful!
In this session, four panelists, Arpi Lal (Forensics Partner-EY), Danielle D’ambrosio (Head of U.S. Real Estate Debt Asset Management-Barings), Lauren Neumeister (Program Analyst, Real Estate Debt-Barings), and Caitlin Hefferment (Vice President, Infrastructure and Energy Capital-Macquarie), stressed the importance of valuing your physical and mental health by carving out dedicated time to spend on your passions. They also shared how their day to day lives may not always feel balanced, but it’s important to focus on the big picture; while working, there will be periods that are very busy, and other times where you will have more free time.
After a day full of learning, all attendees had over an hour to network with around 90 professionals from top firms including: Bank of America, Barings, Bulbrite, Deloitte, Evercore, EY, GCM Grosvenor, Global Atlantic, Guggenheim, Macquarie, NBC Universal, PJT, Point72, Prudential, RBC, UBS, Vanguard, West Monroe and Vanguard. This is a great environment for attendees who have never networked before and those who are a bit more seasoned. The professionals were excited to meet us and seeing the UC lobby filled with supportive women was exciting, to say the least. Take a look at the photos below!
Helen Dayen delivered a powerful closing address to all the attendees wherein she retold her life story in all its highs and lows and left us with three thought-provoking life lessons.
Don’t think of beginnings as scary; think of them as small changes. It makes life a little easier. She reminded us that we have all experienced change at multiple points in our life and that we are good at change.
There is growth in being scared; if you are not scared, you are not learning and growing. Our brain is wired to tell us to run if we feel fear. But, if you feel fear, you have an opportunity to learn something new. She also emphasized that students are some of the most confident and brave people, they just need to believe in themselves and not be afraid of change.
Always control your own narrative; don’t let other people define who you are. We have the power to make choices and let the world know about those choices. She emphasized that nobody has our backs and that we need to seek and ask for the things that we want.
RAFFLE
RAFFLE
If everything wasn’t already great enough, every event you attended got you another entry in our raffle. The items we raffled off included Sony headphones, a MUJI diffuser, Glossier and more. See below!
USWIB Conference is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about careers in business and finance, to meet other like-minded individuals, and to hear stories from many inspiring women who were once in our very chairs (literally, lots of Stern alum come back!). Thank you to all those who attended and to all the firms and professionals who helped this event become all that it was!
Another huge thank you is reserved for USWIB’s very own Conference Committee. Tiffany Wang (Conference Director), Kaylee Yang (Conference Corporate Relations Chair), Hannah Lin (Conference Logistics Chair) and Sajni Patel (Conference Branding & Marketing Chair) worked for months to put this amazing event together. This was the first USWIB Conference to be fully in person in THREE YEARS. One could say that the Conference Committee Dared to Begin!
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ATTENDED, VOLUNTEERED, AND ENGAGED! And always, DARE TO BEGIN!
dare to begin
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dare to begin 〰️
This event took place on Friday, February 10th, 2023.
