In This Issue
- New Things Going On With The Major
- Alumni Spotlight
- Student Spotlight
- Faculty Spotlight
- Club Updates
New Things Going on in the Major
There are so many great things going on in Finance. Below are just a few of the highlights.
Eric Robbins
- Gene Natali, CEO and co-founder of Troutwood, is back for another year as our Finance Executive in Residence! He is coaching our financial planning students for a competition in Pittsburgh, and he has met with several of our classes and clubs. Gene is also the advisory board chair for our new Center for Financial Literacy.
- All three of our clubs maintain regular meetings with guest speakers and projects to keep everyone engaged.
- Five of our ultra-elite students have formed our Investment Research Challenge (IRC) team. They are preparing for the competition in early 2023. Best of luck to our team!
- Finance Day was hosted on October 19. This event offers students the opportunity to explore careers in different functional areas within finance. We had 20 unique employers represented and sessions moderated by a mix of Behrend and World Campus students. We also had a great turnout from our student attendees.
- We have offered scholarships to students to pursue CFA level 1 and CAIA level 1. Additionally, our professional development funds have helped Finance students offset the cost of the CFP exam.
- Our Intrieri Family Student-Managed Fund is now over $1.1 million, and we have already given $13,500 in scholarships to six students who participate in the fund and meet select criteria.
- We are now offering a graduate certificate in Financial Engineering. This graduate certificate is ideal for professionals with backgrounds in business, statistics, or finance and an interest in applications of quantitative skills.
- Our new offering of FIN 477 Behavioral Finance is being taught in all three semesters by Professor Eric Robbins. This course is part of the newly approved Certificate in Behavioral Finance, offered jointly by the Black School of Business and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Please check details on all the other great events occurring within our program for fall 2022 in this newsletter!
Alumni Spotlight
Photo of Megan Mayhue
Megan Mayhue ’21 is an investment operations senior associate at Cambridge Associates LLC. This role focuses on monitoring client accounts, allocating investments, managing client systems, and assisting with maintaining data for compliance purposes.
There are now 25 hours in a day! How do you spend your extra hour?
Since I live in Boston now, I would spend my extra hour exploring more of the city and/or the New England area.
Which Behrend course has helped you the most in your career?
Courses, I would say Finance 420 and Finance 471. Being a part of the Business Analytics Team (aka BAT) has also tremendously helped within my career.
Student Spotlight
Photo of Ryan Moffett
Ryan Moffett is a dual major in Finance and Accounting who plans to graduate in May 2023. This past summer, he worked in the international tax department at Wesco Distribution.
What attracted you to Penn State Behrend?
The dual major program in Accounting and Finance and the reputation of the business school are what drew me to Behrend.
What is one of the most interesting or unique aspects of your job?
Being integrated into the day-to-day operations of the business.
What was your biggest takeaway from your internship?
The biggest takeaway from my internship was applying the hard and soft skills I learned in the classroom to an actual job.
Faculty Spotlight
Photo of Phil Stuczynski
Phil Stuczynski is an assistant teaching professor of finance, and faculty adviser for the Intrieri Family Student-Managed Fund.
If you could teach a course on any subject in any location in the world, what would you teach and where? Why?
I would teach a course that covered the introduction of banking, lending, and investing, to see the logical transfer of wealth and risk over time.
What’s the biggest misconception about finance professors?
That we are too rigid or that we don't care. There are calculations that need to be learned; however, it is important to interpret those calculations.
Finance Club Updates
BAT Club
This semester, the Business Analytics Team has been focusing on the oil and gas industry by analyzing financials, researching, and talking to industry professionals. Through this, BAT Club aims to give students practical experience and be better prepared for careers after earning their degrees.
FMA Club
This semester, the Financial Management Association club has brought in industry professionals and alumni to talk to students about different financial analyst careers, certifications, and internships. The club’s goal is to help students figure out what they want to do after school, network, and get internships to bolster their resumes.
FPA
This semester, the Financial Planning Association club has brought in industry professionals and alumni to talk to students about different financial planning careers, certifications, and internships. The club helps students see which aspect of financial planning they want to go into, network with industry professionals and alumni, and apply for internships.