The Gould Standard Spring 2014

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Why Apple Should Open a Bitcoin Bank

Google to Revolutionize Manufacturing via Robotics

MARKETS

OPINION

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The Globalization of Modern Business Page 05

LEADERSHIP

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Stern Launches Student Art Gallery STUDENT LIFE

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Futures and Options: Exit Strategies JUMPSTART:

Many students are already thinking about what they’ll do after their first job. Why not just do it now?

Last semester, our cover feature examined the popularity of the finance major within Stern. In this issue, we take the natural next step and explore why so many people choose to work in finance when they graduate Daniel Huang Class of 2014

ll It is a cold, breezy Sunday in March and

Matt Szenics, Stern Class of 2013, is waiting for me at Gregory’s coffee in Flatiron. He smiles as I rush through the door — it’s been almost a year since we last saw each other. Then, quickly: “I only have an hour.”

Across the street is Szenics’ workplace, a gargantuan construction that headquarters the US operations of Credit Suisse. It is an imposing stone-brick building, supported by elaborate archways and adorned with reflective windows, like something rising out of downtown Gotham. Szenics works as an investment-banking analyst on the 22nd floor. Hence, he has to go back to work on a Sunday afternoon.

“Hey, at least they’re starting to enforce the no-Saturday rule,” he quips.

Szenics has many good things to say about his job — even attempting a noble defense of the barbaric hours — but soon reveals that his passion lies in startups. He says he sees himself in venture capital one day.

“When I was recruiting, I actually had an offer to join one right away. There would’ve been a lot more upside with the equity they were giving me. It’s where I really want to be.”

Yet, when it came time to sign on the dotted line, he reached for the banking contract instead.

“I chose Credit Suisse because in the end, this is the stamp you want on your resume. It proves you’re capable and allows you to go on to different places. People want the optionality.”

The use of financial terms in everyday speech has enjoyed a surge in popularity of late. From the politician “hedging his bets” to the talent agent “cutting her liabilities,” they have been increasingly called upon to better articulate some facet of the milieu.

Visit a college campus in the spring — with juniors emerging from summer recruiting, se-

PHOTO BY MARIA XING

niors pondering their first steps after graduation — and one such term can be heard above the rest. Optionality. The question everyone already seems to be asking: What are my exit options?

Szenics explains, “To some people like myself who are risk-averse, I thought banking would be a safer way to do it to get to the same end.

You can go to different places with this.”

Piyusha Eluri ’13 echoes the sentiment.

“If you go into consulting or finance, ask yourself if that is an industry you’re passionate about growing in. If not, that’s okay. You can do it for two years but have an idea for what you want after that. Doing these things is a great way to put off answering that question.”

This heavily subscribed-to belief purrs with reassurance. On the first day of freshman year, we sling our books under our arm, ready to embark on journeys of exploration and discovery. That’s what college is for, everyone says, to figure out what you want to do. Yet for many of us — even given the more specialized nature of undergraduate business school — questions still abound four years later.

Recruiting events and company presentations entice us with an easy answer. In a 2011

New York Times column, Yale student Marina Keegan observed, “We will work for banks and hedge funds because they’re marketed to us (quite strategically) as something to merely do for a few years – as a perfect way to gain skills for a future career in somehow saving the world.”Their message is genius in its simplicity: “Not sure what you want to do?

Take another two years to figure it out … and get paid doing it!”

Ironically, for all this talk of having options, it is hard to ignore that many people end up choosing the same one.

“There’s an enormous amount of hype in your first year,” says Vivek Nayar ’13, a firstyear banking analyst at Goldman Sachs.

“Everyone is recruiting and everyone just wants a private equity job.”

Indeed, as both a product of this demand and one of its drivers, recruiting channels that flow into private equity are among the most established pipelines in Wall Street. As little as eight months into their new jobs, analysts begin to receive phone calls from headhunters who try to judge their potential and gauge their interest.

“It’s the traditional path,” says Szenics. “With that frame of mind, it’s just what ends up happening most of the time.”

A related, often-expressed sentiment is that ages 22, 23, and 24 are the years to “put in the time.”Two years is the standard for an entry-level position on Wall Street and the assumption is that as grueling as it might be, youth and ambition will power us through.

In reality, the tunnel may stretch on much longer.

Nayar describes the prevalence of a “business school track,” consisting of two years of banking, two years of private equity, two years of business school, then “it’s kind of [up in the air] after that – ‘do whatever you want’ is the idea.”

As inviting as that last part sounds, I asked Nayar what it actually encompassed.

“To be honest, I don’t think anyone really thinks about that until at least business school. Frankly, if you’re in banking or private equity, you don’t really have much time to be planning other things.”

What might begin as two harmless years quickly turns into a far deeper commitment.

The light at the end of the tunnel keeps moving further.

“I think a lot of kids end up following this track without a clear idea of where they want it to lead to. They just get caught up in the rush,” Nayar says.

Sensing that the picture may be too bleak, he quickly comments, “Realistically, plenty of smart people do this and succeed in the end.”

This turns out to be another common theme in many people’s decision-making process. With so many high-achieving classmates and Ivy League-certified peers flocking into finance, an undeniable sense of security comes from choosing the same path. It’s classic herd mentality with a cherry on top — everyone, like you, is bright, capable, and well educated.

“Smart people follow what other smart people are doing. I really think that where the intelligent people go the rest of the people will eventually follow,” says Szenics.

He pauses for a moment, contemplating.

“Although not necessarily to places that will add the most value to society…”

This hits on a bothersome truth. Seven years ago, the smart people on Wall Street collectively caused a global financial crisis. Today, reflecting what might be a shift from finance to tech, the smart people are migrating

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NEWS MARKETS Microsoft appoints Satya Nadella as CEO on February 4th, replacing Steve Ballmer.

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Janet Yellen was sworn in as Federal Reserve Chairman on February 3rd, making her the first woman to hold the position.

Google Glasses were sold to the public in a limited supply for the first time on April 15th for $1,500.

Lithuania

Likely to Join Eurozone in 2015 Ruta Ziukaite Class of 2014

llWhen Lithuania first tried to join the eurozone in 2006, it was denied entry because its inflation rate was above the required level. The government has since been determined to do everything necessary to meet the tough criteria set by the 1992 Maastricht Treaty.

In order to join the eurozone, a country must fulfill five different requirements. They include such conditions as participating in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II for at least two years and maintaining a general government deficit that does not exceed three percent of GDP. Lithuania is currently on track to change currency on January 1st, 2015. At a meeting with the IMF this March, Rimantas Sadzius, a member of the Lithuanian Social Democratic party, said, “Last year Lithuania’s economic growth stood at 3.4 percent. It was one of the fastest growing economies in the EU. It is expected that this year the rate of growth will be the same; while in 2015 a 4.3 percent growth is forecasted.”

Despite Sadzius’s optimism, meeting all of the requirements by 2015 will not be an easy task.

The government in Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, currently forecasts the budget deficit for this year at 2.9 percent.

Furthermore, the European Commission puts it at three percent, just at the threshold set by the Maastricht Treaty.

Thus, the fear is the same as it was in 2006 — a spike in inflation would mean that Lithuania would have to put

off its bid to join the eurozone yet again.

Along with the Bank of Lithuania, Algirdas Butkevicius, the current Prime Minister of Lithuania, believes that euro adoption will bring foreign investment and boost the economy through the creation of jobs. However, public opinion is swayed against the adoption of the euro in 2015. According to a Eurobarometer survey from April 2013, 55 percent of Lithuanians oppose joining the eurozone, compared to only 41 percent who believe it is a good move. A separate survey revealed that 60 percent of those surveyed feared increased prices after the currency change.

The public has every right to be concerned with the controversial move. In 2009, a debt crisis erupted across Europe, forcing five members of the eurozone into painful bailouts, including Greece and Spain. When Estonia became the first exSoviet republic to join the eurozone in 2011, it saw its annual inflation increase by 2 percent. According to the Bank of Estonia, prices also rose in 2012 by a staggering 3.9 percent.

Despite these statistics, Bank of Lithuania deputy chief Ingrida Simonyte believes the positives will outweigh the negatives. In an interview conducted this March, Simonyte stated, “First of all, we expect that joining the euro-area and the SSM (single supervisory mechanism) will help increase public confidence and strengthen the resilience of the banking sector to external shocks.”

Rimantas Stasys, head of the economics department

at Klaipeda University agrees with this view, and was quick to point out that higher prices are not necessarily a bad thing. Stasys says, “You may have to pay more for a piece of bread, but at the same time, the bread company is making more money, which means that they can pay their workers a higher salary.”

While encouraging the public to look at the situation from a broader perspective, Stasys admits that controlling the national economy is difficult when the European Central Bank regulates everything.

Lithuania’s vice-minister for foreign affairs, Rolandas Krisciunas, believes that joining the eurozone will be a symbolic move for ex-Soviet Lithuania. In an interview with the Financial Times he was quoted as saying, “It has a symbolic connotation: we see ourselves [being] as integrated as possible into Europe.”

Dr. Stasys agrees with this claim, noting, “Foreign investment will make Lithuania a safer place.”

Stasys referred to the current crisis in Ukraine, adding that the situation there might be different if the country was a member of the European Union or the eurozone. “The European Union will simply not concede Lithuania [to Russia] if it has investments and capital in the nation.”

The European Union will finally have an answer for Lithuania in July, when the nation may be given formal permission to join the Eurozone in 2015 as the 19th official member. formal permission to join the Eurozone in 2015 as the 19th official member. official member.

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NEWS MARKETS news.paper MARKETS

Amazon stated it has no plans to accept Bitcoin, citing consumer uncertainty.

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Yahoo! and Microsoft announced plans to produce original TV series, in competition with HBO, Hulu and Netflix.

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With a projected 0.7% decline in units sold this quarter, Apple’s iPad sales have finally hit a wall.

Google to Revolutionize Manufacturing via

Robotics ll Google is always looking at ways emerging technologies will impact the global economy. Recently, the trendsetting company has shifted its focus to the emerging field of robotics and artificial intelligence, an area that is also gathering interest from companies like Facebook and Apple.

Over the past year, Google has made at least eight significant robotics acquisitions. This, combined with the appointment of former Android chief Andy Rubin as the head of a new “Robotics” unit, solidifies Google’s focus on this new growth sector.

The company is already taking steps to put this technology to commercial use. Foxconn, a major supplier to many of the world’s biggest tech firms, recently reported meeting with Andy Rubin to automate parts of its Chinese factory processes.

From a broader perspective, this indicates a major inflection point in the labor market. In more

and more cases, robots will be cheaper than humans.

For example, the wage of Chinese manufacturing workers tripled from 20032011 (at a 14 percent CAGR) and continues to soar. This essentially tripled the budget for a robot with the same production output.

In the near term, replacing human labor with robotics has both pros and cons. Among the beneficiaries will be technology companies like Google, who can expand into new manufacturing businesses and quickly capture more revenue.

However, this will adversely affect the unemployment rate, as significant layoffs will likely occur at factories like

Foxconn’s.

The first victims will be firms in emerging markets with cheap labor and production outsourcing from more established countries.

The next will be sectors with low-skill workers, places like McDonalds where workers are frequently paid the minimum wage.

Google’s foray into robotics marks the first small step toward a more mainstream adoption. If Foxconn can successfully transition even a portion of its labor to robotics, and achieve positive results, then a whole host of tech companies will likely follow suit. Google may once again become the leader, this time in automating production.

at the all-time high of about $1,200.

This raises another question: Why does mob psychology converge on an asset and bid the price up to incredibly high levels?

According to Professor Yermack, the bitcoin closely follows the tulip bulb bubble in Holland in 1637 where the price of the bulbs of a newly introduced tulip rose to extremely high prices and then collapsed. “We don’t have great answers for this or when we can predict the end of the bubble, but we do see these things recur,” says Yermack.

Indeed, the future of bitcoin appears bleak. For the digital currency to have value in the long run, it must be a viable payment system for commercial transactions, something that it currently

is not. Challenges include the lack of commercial acceptance, its high volatility, and its high security risks.

“For these reasons it’s difficult to take this seriously as a currency. It’s just pure speculation”, says Yermack.

Traditional banks do not yet accept bitcoins.

Instead, a bitcoin owner uses something called a “digital wallet,” essentially a file on the Internet in which a user receives credit for his bitcoins. Different commercial services have also arisen as storage options.

“There are some people that can live solely off of bitcoins, but I don’t think it’s an adequate way to cover your expenses. There is the idea that someday this could happen, but we’re no where near,”Yermack predicts.

In light of these misgivings, there are a few reasons that continue to explain Bitcoin’s appeal. One such factor is its separation from political control.

“Because of the financial crisis and all the controversies about bailouts around the world and the Greek debt crisis, public finance has really fallen low in people’s opinions,” says Yermack.

Another advantage is that algorithms fix the virtual currency’s growth.

Consumers do not need to worry about inflation or the consequences of a central bank’s policies. Bitcoin solves the problem by fixing the rate at which money can be issued.

“If you are a very orthodox monetarist, this is a cool idea. And so you’re

really talking about people with extremely conservative libertarian beliefs who represent a small slice of the fringe in our society,” says Yermack, “But there’s at least enough of them to get together and coalesce around an ideal like this.”

Bitcoin has also assumed a position as the darling of a “techy” clientele.

Some may get involved just to signal that they’re savvy about the hottest web trends and the latest in digital communication.

For the bitcoin bubble to continue, the number of enthusiasts needs to exceed the number of shares. “Yet sooner or later logic will catch up. Fortunately, this is so small that it can’t cause economy-wide damage,” says Yermack.

Google has been on a robotics acquisition spree for the past year. After recent meetings with Foxconn it appears the first commercial applications are just around the corner.

Galileo Russell Class of 2015

The

Future of

Bitcoin Sanjana Kucheria CLass of 2016

ll What is the future of bitcoins?

Over the past two years, Bitcoin has skyrocketed in popularity and notoriety, enjoying many stays under the media spotlight. All around the world people began exchanging their currencies for this virtual currency. Despite the recent collapse of the largest

bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, the bitcoin remains strong, trading at $586.30 each as of mid-March.

According to finance professor David Yermack, a large majority of volume in bitcoin is pure speculation.

People are buying this virtual currency simply because they think they can sell it in the future for a higher price. In early 2010, one bitcoin sold for five cents. In December 2013, the Bitcoin traded

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FINANCIAL MARKETS

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Chinese company Alibaba, which runs the online marketplaces Taobao and Tmall, is preparing to go public, with an estimated $15 billion IPO.

Facebook is introducing “Nearby Friends," a feature which notifies mobile users when they are near friends.

Walmart begins its new, lowerpriced money transfer service on April 24, directly undercutting industry stalwarts like Western Union.

China on the Verge of a Shadow Banking Crisis Galileo Russell Class of 2015

China’s recent monetary policy has stifled the value of the yuan, leaving investors desperately searching for higher yield in riskier wealth management products (WMPs). This has resulted in a rapidly growing shadow banking system, which has ballooned into a multi-trillion dollar problem.

How this precarious investment practice will end is anyone’s guess.

Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy, a small Chinese solar power firm, declared bankruptcy last month.

It was the first corporate default in China’s history. ll

Sidney Stein Class of 2016

ll The Fed chooses to

taper based mostly on the state of the U.S. economy, but its decisions affect worldwide markets. Historically, increases in interest rates have sent emerging markets into a frenzy, especially in the early stages of tapering, but the tapering policy announced in May of 2013 has been an exception.

Tapering increases interest rates in the United States, causing investors to flee emerging markets and invest in the United States instead. Investors are further incentivized by the unstable politics, unreliable policies

Usually these types of bankruptcies are bailed out by one of the Chinese government’s state-funded banks, and consumers don’t bother picking up the tab via losses in WMPs. This default is critically important to the state of the shadow banking system. It provides a textbook example of how assets are redistributed as investments to unsuspecting Chinese consumers.

Corporate debt is often repackaged into WMPs, which are then marketed to consumers, promising both high returns and virtually no default risk. This practice has obviously enticed a major portion of China’s saving consumers. Since

2010, the outstanding value of Chinese WMP’s has risen nearly 70 percent on an annual basis. In mid-2013, it stood at over 9 trillion Yuan.

However, the perception that the state may no longer offer support for failing companies can trigger panic for investors holding WMPs. Hundreds of billions of WMPs carry payment deadlines in 2014. The consequences can very well spark a global crisis.

Because all of this is occurring within the shadow banking system, there is very little data on who is holding what debt. Eerie parallels can be drawn to the U.S. housing market crisis.

One notable difference is

and underlying economic problems in EMs to park their money in an established economy. In response to increased U.S. interest rates, EMs are forced to raise their own interest rates to retain invested capital, and these high interest rates harm their economies and damage the well being of their people.

Many EMs have large current account deficits, forcing them to rely on foreign capital inflows.

When the Fed started its purchasing program in 2008 and reduced U.S. interest rates, investors sought higher returns in emerging markets. Today, as the Fed slowly winds down its program, the trend is

reversing, leaving emerging markets vulnerable.

One of the countries hit hardest by tapering, Turkey, has seen its currency, the lira, depreciate over 20 percent relative to the dollar since tapering was announced. The actions of the Fed worsen an already grim situation. Turkey has the largest current account deficit among the rich OECD countries and is losing political stability. The country’s Prime Minister is becoming increasingly autocratic, leaving international investors with little confidence in the country. Investors are now taking their money from one of the countries that need it

that, in China, there is even less regard for regulation and investigation, particularly when it comes to the creditworthiness of companies and consumers If consumers lose faith in the quality of their WMPs, it could spark a widespread panic and create a massive, fear-induced sell-off. With no one to pick up the tab on bankrupt company debt, consumers could in theory be left holding the bag.

This would no doubt be a major blow to the country’s

consumer culture. It could even cripple the growth of an emerging Chinese middle class.

The handling of this default and the extent to which consumers will have to bear the burden are critical issues for the Chinese financial system going forward. Government policy on this decision could shape reactions to future defaults and dictate the future of China’s shadow banking era. It is an important milestone in China’s history

and will be a benchmark for bankruptcies to come.

For better or worse, China’s economy is becoming an increasingly global force in modern finance. The country’s banking system needs to catch-up. This means tackling the shadow banking market. Whether that spurs the emergence of a stronger, more transparent system, or a tumble down the gaping hole of another major crash, is yet to be determined.

Unintended

Consequences Though the Fed is clearly responsible for the well being of the United States, it should also be held accountable for the distress it causes internationally. the most.

Though the Fed is clearly responsible for the well being of the United States, it should also be held accountable for the distress it causes internationally. The

global economy, as well as U.S. international relations, is damaged when the Fed disregards the well being of foreign countries. Instability in emerging markets has consequences for U.S.

investors as well — in a globalized world, what goes around comes around. The Fed must remember to care for its neighbors and not just itself.

COMMENTS OPINION

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Editorial

Daniel Huang

Steve Steven Krafcik Krafcik

Class of 2014

Class ofStaff 2017Writer

Capstone Course Highlight of Stern Career “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”

I told myself I wouldn’t start with a quote from the Classics.

I find it pompous, and besides, I suspect I lack the intellectual bandwidth to support a lengthier discussion. Yet here we are, a piece of wisdom from the mouth of Aristotle himself.

This is a reflection on Professional Responsibility & Leadership, that modest twocredit course tucked quietly into our senior fall. It is a way to say thank you, because while no one enjoyed scrambling to finish readings the night before, the rewards we reaped have far surpassed the costs.

Stern has provided us with a great education. It has helped many of us land jobs and positioned us well for longterm financial success. But by our fourth year, our schedules had long shrugged off any

semblance of the liberal arts, drilling us instead with yield curves and debt instruments.

That’s where PRL came in. It shifted the our gaze. For one afternoon each week, it turned our attention away from the emerging markets or the new technologies, the BRICs and the MINTs and the HFTs of the future, to the stories and insights of the past.

What I always enjoyed most were the conversations.

Not with my classmates — peers I had long taken for granted in the hallways but who impressed me each week at the table with the struggles they voiced and the comments they shared. Not with my professor — a hedge fund manager in his midthirties who would sit down and spew forth knowledge so deep and aware that I could only shake my head and wonder how he came to know

so much.

No, the conversations I valued the most were with Ruskin, when he insisted that social justice be at the heart of all business decisions; with Berlin, when he cautioned that utopia may never exist; with Sartre, when he promised that our choices in life would forever be in our own hands.

How comforting it was to tap into this shared humanity, to learn that history’s greatest minds had wrestled with the same questions that grip us today, and indeed provided us with texts that can help illuminate our course.

Ambition is a race we choose to run. Just by being at this school, we have proven to run the race well, and it is a race that doesn’t end when we cross the stage and receive our diplomas. “To what end?” my professor liked to challenge.

To make the most money? To

save the world? Maybe our end is to help other people, but not before amassing a fortune for ourselves first. Or, perhaps it all comes down to happiness, as elusive as we want to make it, as simple as a gooseberry bush, its ripened fruit sweet to no one else but us.

Underscoring each lesson in PRL was a recognition of the grand potential that dwells inside each of us. Pay attention because you are a future business leader. Listen up because you are a man or woman of influence. Take a moment because you are a human being.

And so, a nod to Stern for administering an enriching curriculum, and a tip of my hat to the extraordinary lineup of professors who brought it alive. From a graduating senior but unceasing student – thank you.

Galileo Russell Class of 2015

The Reason Why Apple Should Open a Bitcoin Bank Despite being one of our generation's most innovative and disruptive technology companies, Apple has been assigned an earnings multiple which reflects a 30 percent discount to the S&P 500. This discount is an expression of the market's dwindling faith in Apple as the daring growth titan it once was, and a well accepted transition into becoming a boring dividend blue chip.

With a mountain of $150 billion in cash I think it’s time for Apple to do something exciting. The iWatch doesn't count; and neither does the iTV. It's time for Apple to take a real chance.

If Bitcoin becomes widely adopted as a form of mobile or online payment, the leading bitcoin wallet and payment ser vices stand to benefit greatly and the price of bitcoins could rise dramatically from today's levels. Apple is in the unique position of being able to get a piece of the action on both ends.

In theory this would be executed in four phases: 1. Apple begins acquiring a significant amount ($1-2 billion, or 10-20 percent) of

all bitcoins to store and hold, in the open market.

2. Apple announces the adoption of Bitcoin for its newly patented mobile payments system and integration with iBeacon for physical retail purchases.

3. The price of bitcoins soars on the news, and the liquidity is dramatically increased as more people use and store bitcoins.

4. Apple acts as the 'Fed' of bitcoins by manipulating and stabilizing interest rates by either increasing or decreasing liquidity in the market by utilizing the supply of bitcoins it first accumulated, just like a central bank.

Because of its dominance in the smartphone sector Apple possesses the ability to immediately expedite the adoption of bitcoins. This would create a huge lead for Apple in the $1 trillion emerging mobile payments industry and leverage its installed user base as a network of 500 million-plus new bitcoin bank accounts.

Among other things, Apple could potentially repatriate a portion of its foreign cash reserves in bitcoins, or at the minimum utilize a fraction

of its padlocked overseas fortune to fund this entire project. The potential opportunities for Bitcoin if it were to be aided by a brand as powerful as Apple are nearly limitless. Credit cards, Paypal, Stripe and traditional banks become imminently obsolete i f A p p l e we re to o f fe r comparable services in the digital currency.

The stabilization of bitcoins by Apple is critical, and it would open up a debt market for the currency.

As volatility decreases a pseudo bitcoin shadowbanking sector becomes an inevitability as consumers will have the option of cheaper and less restricted capital.

With billions in reserves, and hundreds of millions of clients seeking capital, Apple becomes the most streamlined online lender in the market. In theory, Ap p l e co u l d i nt ro d u ce bitcoin-denominated loans and mortgages through its own online platform. While doing so it could offer lower rates to clients, and achieve a higher margin per loan than a traditional financial institution. This nuance can

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be attributed to centuries of infrastructure within b a n k s, w h i c h h a s n ow turned into excess baggage that drags down operating margins, and limits the competitiveness of offered rates when compared to those of a streamlined online lender.

We are at an inflection point in the financial system as banks struggle to meet Basel III requirements and consistently post negative returns on capital. Banks are being competed into unprofitability, and Apple has the advantage of no excess infrastructure costs, which it could translate into lower rates for its customers.

An expansion of Apple's modern minimalism into finance would be a welcomed change. Compare Apple's income statement and balance sheet against that of the Federal Reserve, and then reconfigure your trust in the stability of both entities. One is governed by an economist dictatorship, the other by free market capitalism. I n 2014 it's pretty clear which structure allows fiscal responsibility to flourish.

Diplomatic Implications of America's Fracking As Russia strong-arms U k ra i n e i nto s u b m i s s i o n and China progresses towards territorial conquest in Southeast Asia, they shape 21st century global relations and diplomac y.

New age imperialism Cold War brinksmanship is now the game. How can the U.S. remain assertive in this time of geopolitical frenzy? By exporting energy, plain and simple.

B ecause of hydraulic fracturing techniques and what observers are hailing as a “shale revolution,” U.S. gas prices now stand at $4 per million British thermal units, courtesy of a massive supply.

That’s a lower price than any Asian or European competitor can offer. At the same time the demand for natural gas is huge, especially from U.S. allies. Japan and Western Europe combined account for most of the world’s natural gas imports a year.

Today, Russian gas is meeting that demand. Many E u ro p e a n c o u n t r i e s b u y between 70 percent and 100 percent of their gas from G a z p ro m , R u s s i a’s s t ate owned natural gas giant.

Putin’s foreign policy is to use natural gas as the ace in the hole — raising or dropping prices depending on foreign policy needs, or cutting out supplies all together.

Unsur pr isingly, the ambassadors of Slovak ia, Poland, Hungar y, and the Czech Republic sent letters to Congress in early April urging the United States to do more to permit the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe. They, and most of Europe, have tied themselves to the benevolence of Russia.

That benevolence has resulted in the hostile takeover of Ukraine and has the rest of gas dependent Europe reeling.

This is an opportunity, should President Obama and Congress decide to act.

Capitol Hill can start with these three steps: first, enact more favorable tax and permitting terms; second, remove crippling barriers to infrastructure build-out, like pipelines; and third, stop dithering over LNG export approvals.

Already, a bipartisan group of over 50 lawmakers is sponsoring a bill that would automatically permit gas exports to NATO countries.

Once free trade bills like this and others get passed, more

companies will get into the game and begin investing in downstream infrastructure.

With the adoption of more favorable tax and permitting terms, the U.S. can unleash an energy boom. The next decade could see the U.S. become the Saudi Arabia of natural gas, bypassing the Middle East in oil production Washington can strategically use these energy resources to support its allies and deter its enemies in conflict situations.

For example, we could release petroleum reserves to Japan if China blocks Tokyo’s access to oil. Increased natural gas reserves could also take the sting out of Russia’s strategic manipulation of output and help gain new customers for American business.

All this, as well as new jobs (North Dakota’s unemployment rate is 2.6 percent) and a restored manufacturing economy, can strengthen American influence overseas without putting boots on the ground.

Fracture a well, bring a solider home.

What about the environmental damage, or the water contamination fracking is thought to cause? The evidence is inconclusive. Studies on hydraulic fracturing by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Groundwater Protection Council and independent agencies have found no evidence of groundwater contamination.

I n M a y 2 0 1 1 , E PA Administrator Lisa Jackson stated before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, “I am not aware of any proven case where the fracking process itself affected water.”

Fracking is a matter of national security. There was a time when the United States was the arsenal of Democracy.

We helped save Western C i v i l i z at i o n f ro m f a s c i s t barbarism (twice), then again from Soviet Communism by s u p p l y i n g m u n i t i o n s and materials to our Allies — cour tesy of American capitalism.

Today we must be the P i p e l i n e o f D e m o c r a c y.

Instead of iron and steel, our companies will supply gas and oil. The results? A restored American power and a win for free, sovereign peoples everywhere.

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FEATURES NATIONAL

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Exit Strategies (con't) Alum Charts Corporate out west in droves, competing for startup glory. While the stakes might not be as high, society hardly benefits if we can suddenly order food and date online – while rating the cuteness of all the Internet’s cat videos – on our latest mobile app.

Around this time last year, Eluri was a senior in Stern facing a tough decision.

She turned down an opportunity in management consulting because a business strategy internship at Huffington Post presented her with an exciting full-time opportunity that had never been part of the plan.

Drawing on her experience, she offers a word of advice to college seniors.

“The options that are even in your mind right now are either not going to be there in two years because things can change so quickly or you’re thinking about jobs in the wrong way.”

“Your next job shouldn’t exist to you right now,” she insists.

After talking to dozens of colleagues and mentors, Eluri ultimately decided to join Huffington Post. Her original plan – two years of consulting, then straight to business school for her MBA – went right out the window.

When thinking about her future today, she says, “A lot of factors are now in play that I would never have considered back when I was in school.”

“People tend to think that real life just means work. But really what real life means is having to make decisions for yourself.”

A study conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers reports that students from this year’s graduating class are projected, on average, to have twenty jobs in their lifetimes.

On one hand, this statistic can be encouraging — a reminder that we are never quite as locked-in as we may sometimes believe. On the other, it can spell a less optimistic view, hinting at the long fruitless journey many of us will take to find a job we are happy with.

In either case, by acknowledging the sheer frequency of these midcareer pivots, it is little wonder why the spotlight has shone on amassing optionality.

“The way I’m thinking about it is that I’m setting myself up to be in a better position for the future by doing banking,” says Szenics. “A lot of my mentors tell me that you want to work hard and learn as many skills as you can now so that you’ll be a better value-add when you get there.”

Nayar proposes another advantage.

“At the end of the day, all of these analysts are motivated, ambitious kids. I’m sure I’ll be crossing paths with a lot of them down the road.”

These are certainly valid points.

Overlaps can be found between skillsets and experience can be built across different fields. A strong network is undoubtedly invaluable. But if there is any emphasis reserved for this idea of transferabi-

lity, then it is conceivably misplaced.

The virtuoso-to-be does not spend time banging drums in the marching band if he dreams of enrapturing thousands with his violin at Carnegie Hall.

Diana Gruverman, Director of Employer Relations at the Wasserman Career Center, is sympathetic to the complexity of the situation.

“Students have a lot of pressure to accept their first offer,” she says, a pressure that can come from their families, peers, or a range of financial burdens.

“We want students to be comfortable in their first jobs but if it’s something that they feel is not the right fit, we don’t want them to stay there forever.”

Gruverman notes that most students work between eighteen and thirty months in their first jobs.

“We don’t think what you do out of college defines a career.”

Yet, taken to the extreme, simply treating a job as a stepping-stone can rouse a dangerous attitude.

Without allowing enough space to appreciate your immediate surroundings, you run the risk of subtracting from the experience and pinning your hopes on something that may never materialize.

“Is it even really a good use of your time then?” Eluri wonders.

Refreshingly, some find that the opposite approach – taking a more cavalier, day-to-day attitude – works best for them.

Jacqueline Serame ’13 works at JP Morgan. A sales analyst in the Investor Services program, she’ll be the first to tell you she loves her job.

“I came in knowing that I wanted to work internationally and be involved in sales,” she says. “The program I’m in gave me the opportunity for these things, so I was stoked.”

This spring, Serame’s job will take her to London for a month. Her decision is already paying off.

“It’s also important for me to look at the coworkers on my team — see who they are as people, and how they live,” she says. “My boss is awesome and for some reason, that gives me confidence. I enjoy being here and just seeing where it’ll take me.”

Serame smiles. “Who knows? I could own a bakery in twenty years.”

When it comes to people’s careers, there’s hardly such a thing as a right answer. Fulfillment comes in many shapes. Everyone carries a unique palette of experiences and a distinct set of expectations. Some chase a distinguished dream job, others seek the lifestyle that job can provide.

Perhaps then, we should shift our focus away from optionality toward something more akin to intentionality. Instead of looking for exits, maybe we should spend more time searching for entrances.

What are my goals? What are my values? What do I want? We are young and our careers will be long.

No matter what we do, finding clear answers to these questions may be the best place to start.

Escape Plan With New Book Daniel Huang

own journey.

no social impact.

When did you realize finance wasn’t your passion?

So how did you get out?

Class of 2015

ll Kunal Mehta, Class of ’11, is

a Disruptor, a term used to describe men and women who have left behind corporate life for something more entrepreneurial and rewarding. His book, Disruptors: Entrepreneurs & the Escape from Corporate America, follows the journey of others like him — those who have made the leap and started a venture of their own. It is a must read for anyone who has ever had second thoughts about Wall Street or thinks their calling may lie on a different path. He joins The Gould Standard to talk a little bit about his

When I first started at JP Morgan as a student, it felt really good. I liked the people I worked with, I had cash on the weekends, I got to wear suits — it was awesome. But by the time I began working full-time at Nomura doing banking, I was miserable.

It wasn’t even the hours. The work was so unfulfilling and it felt like there was always this obsession with money. Three months in, no matter how good the money was, I knew that this was not the life I wanted. There was

I quit Nomura without a plan after a year. It’s hard because when you’re working you don’t feel like applying to jobs. On weekends, you feel like you need to go out, then on Sunday nights, when you realize you have to go back to work, you apply to anything you see. You get interviews but nothing is really different enough for you to leave – just similar jobs at different firms.

A lot of social impact firms don’t want a Wall Streeter. You know how to do a very specific thing that isn’t

In a League of His Own Anna Chen Class of 2017

ll Samson Feldman is

a Stern ’12 graduate who has made the Brooklyn Nets his business. Feldman is an account coordinator in partnership marketing for Barclays Center and the basketball team, which recently grew its business by moving to Brooklyn.

Formerly known as the New Jersey Nets, the team moved to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in 2012 to cater to one of the largest markets in the United States. Feldman, a loyal follower of the Nets since before its move, has been able to experience the growth in business opportunities through his job.

The team’s move has brought it a previously unseen amount of sponsorship offers.

Feldman chose Stern for

the location because it is located in the entertainment and sports media capital of the world. At Stern, Feldman majored in Finance and Marketing and minored in Mandarin. He was President of the Stern Tisch Entertainment Business Association, having further developed an interest in sports media during his time at school. While in charge of STEBA, he brought in multiple guest speakers from within the sports industry.

While Feldman always knew he wanted to work in sports, he did not enter the industry until senior year.

As an underclassman, he interned in insurance, real estate, and law. As a junior he interned at an entertainment business management firm but still focused on finance. Feldman realized after these internships that he wanted to focus less

on finance or accounting and more on marketing. After graduation he then attended a program called the Manhattan Sports Business Academy, through which he interned at a boutique sports marketing agency. He landed his first full time job at Horizon Media, where he did media buying and planning. This experience exposed him to different areas within sport, helped him gain business experience and ultimately land his current job with the Nets.

Even after graduating, Feldman has stayed active within the Stern community. In February, he spoke at the Industry Introduction Series for Sports and Entertainment Week, a program that did not exist when Feldman was in college.

“My hope is that with the IIS series, listening to spea-

kers and participating in clubs, students are at least getting exposure. Maybe that will peak an interest in learning more or getting internship experience to help students figure out if it’s something they want to do,” said Feldman.

Feldman advises anyone interested in entertainment to do whatever it takes to break into the industry. Employers want to see an understanding of the industry. Students can gain this understanding through internships and networking. Feldman was able to break into sports and entertainment industry because of his internships. Though Feldman started with a variety of experiences, he worked his way into the Nets organization and intends to stay in the business for a while.

PLAYER STATS Name: Hometown

Basketball

Favorite teams

Brooklyn Nets

Hobbies

PHOTO COURTESY OF SAMSON FELDMAN

Fort Lee, NJ

Favorite sport

Favorite foods

Samson Feldman at the Barclays Center during a Nets game

Samson Feldman

Most memorable Stern expe-

Italian, especially pasta Going to concerts and festivals, trying new restaurants and cuisines, DJ'ing Studying abroad in Shangahi

NATIONAL FEATURES news.paper

as impressive as many people think.

Startups, nonprofits – they’re not looking for that.

Finally, I got to a point where I couldn’t take it anymore. I decided I needed to take some time to sit back and just ask myself what really makes me tick. What’s really driving me?

That must have been a really scary time for you.

It definitely was. A lot my friends wanted to leave too but they didn’t have the inspiration. None of us knew how to deal with this. And then I realized — all the other successful entrepreneurs I looked up to have probably gone through this too.

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zed every single hour of every single day because they’re doing something they care about so much.

Most people are scared of taking the first step towards entrepreneurship. But if they don't take the risk, then they wake up 40 years later, regretting it. It is better to try, fail and learn...I urge younger kids to take those risks and pursue the career they really want to pursue because as life goes on it becomes more difficult to take those risks.

Younger people don't know the rules yet so that makes it much easier for them to break them and make their own. I think that's where disruptive thinking takes place.

What do you want your readers to take away?

My hope is that for those reading these stories on their way to work or on a Sunday night and wondering, “Why am I doing what I’m doing?” this might be the little push they need to break away and do something about it.

"

And that’s where you got the idea for the book.

Lauren Bush - Founder, FEED Projects

one of the "disruptors" featured in Mehta's book

These people have done it. They have failed, but bounced back. When I met with them to talk, I saw something in them. They’re so energi-

well compensated, I’m not sure if I could be in a job sim-

ll Are Stern and CAS ma-

jors as different from each other as they imagine? The divide between Stern students and CAS students interested in business may solely be based on each college’s reputation rather than the actual career choices made. The business-inclined CAS students have passions that lie outside of investment banking and, surprisingly enough, the same goes for Stern students.

For example, Elijah Welch, a CAS economics major also pursuing a Stern minor in business studies, is passionate about stock trading and angel investments.

“In terms of my day-today trading and stock market investments, I am mostly self-taught with some advice and encouragement from my parents and uncle,” says Welch.

To Welch, investment banking does not hold the same appeal as other industries.

“Instead of having the freedom to pursue your true interests and passions, investment banking in the traditional sense seems mindnumbing to me, and although investment bankers are

My aim is not to be the investment banker involved with the IPO of a major company, my aim is to be running the major company that needs to hire bankers for IPO. Mayank Dalmia, Stern '15

ply for the money,” says Welch.

Mayank Dalmia, another CAS student majoring in economics with a triple minor in business studies, BEMT, and computer programming, recently went through the summer internship recruiting process as a junior.

“One thing I saw across the board is that many students from CAS are compelled to pursue the ambitions of their Stern counterparts and try and enter the world of financial services,” says Dalmia. “I spoke to many people who didn’t really know what to do, but were just

going with banking because that’s what they are ‘meant to do.’”

Dalmia himself is keen on pursuing a career in management consulting. “I am strongly attracted to jobs that allow me to evaluate business problems or strategize the future of a business,” says Dalmia. “My aim is not to be the investment banker involved with the IPO of a major company; my aim is to be running the major company that needs to hire bankers for an IPO.” For Dalmia, and many other economics majors at CAS, careers on Wall Street are acceptable, but they are certainly not for everyone. “Everyone seems to want to work at Wall Street, even though there are many concentrations at Stern that aren’t focused on finance at all,” says Dalmia.

Many CAS students interested in business have career goals aligned with Stern students that do not necessarily involve investment banking. While neither Welch nor Dalmia are interested in pursuing a career in investment banking, they are certainly leaning towards the financial services industry. Similarly, students at Stern are also lea-

Looking Ahead...

My long-term career goal is to be a social entrepreneur. I dream of addressing global social issues through social enterprise.

"

Aileen Jiang Stern '15 Finance & Economics Minor:SocialEntrepreneurship

"

Class of 2016

ning towards non-traditional financial services beyond investment banking.

Albert Starominsky, a Stern student concentrating in finance and statistics also believes that many Stern students do in fact want to be investment bankers after graduating.

“The main motivations for this career are the pay and the exit opportunities into hedge funds, private equity shops, etcetera,” says Starominsky. Starominsky’s interests in the financial markets are navigating him towards a career in asset management or trading.

“Looking further into the future, I want to venture into Silicon Valley or start my own business,” says Starominsky. “I want to keep my mind open to random opportunities that may arise and not invest myself deeply into one area.”

For Harsh Doshi, a sophomore Stern student concentrating in finance and statistics, he sees two paths from business school: the finance world and the corporate world. In fact, some of the most attractive jobs in finance are jobs in private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds, among others.

“For Stern students to get into such fields, they’ve got to get the experience first, and they do that by going into investment banking, asset management, or sales and trading at a bulge bracket,” says Doshi. “In our year, I feel as though there are quite a few students who are interested in jobs other than banking, they are just trying to figure out how to get there.”

"

Student Ambitions Trending Away from Finance Sanjana Kucheria

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I came to NYU to with aspirations of creating impact through politics, but after being introduced to the vibrant entrepreneurship community at NYU, I’m thinking now that social entrepreneurship is how I will make my greatest impact..

Martin Kim, CAS '15 Economics&Politics

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I think a lot of people really are interested in business but don't know it. To be outside of Stern and get involved in something great like Investment Analysis Group (IAG), you just have to be willing to work really hard.

"

Steve Caputo, CAS '15 Economics&Philosophy Minor: Business Studies

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT LIFE

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Around the World with BPE

SNAPSHOT: Sidney Davis

Stein

&

A landmark from the 1992 Olympics on the beaches of Barcelona, Spain Katherine

Class of 2014

ll Stern's Business & Politi-

cal Economy program brings a small group of students to study abroad for three semesters as part of a global curriculum. Sophomores spend the year in London, and juniors may study in either Shanghai or Washington. This article chronicles the European travels of two sophomores, Katherine and Sidney, currently in studying in London.

layout. The city’s architecture was absolutely beautiful and it was amazing how almost all roads lead you back to the main city square.

A surreal moment was when I met up with several people studying at NYU Prague. On the first night, a large group of us went out together. It was

strange because it felt a little bit like I was back in New York with my friends, when we were actually half way across the world in the Czech Republic! I know that for seeing friends from NYU in Prague was a real highlight for many BPE students, albeit surreal experience.

Sidney: The BPE trip definitely enhanced my NYU expe-

rience. Going as a group was a real bonding experience.

Because the whole BPE cohort was together, we all got to know each other better and were able to go out together. If I were I on my own, I would have done similar sightseeing and activities but without the great running commentary and company of my friends.

PRAGUE Katherine: I loved the BPE student trip to the Skoda automobile factory just outside of Prague. Dressed in neon yellow vests, our large group was led through the manufacturing facilities of one of the largest automobile companies in Europe. I did not expect to be particularly engaged by the visit, but I was thoroughly impressed with the efficiency and scale of Skoda’s operations. Also, the authentic Czech dinner that we attended with Professor Wachtel was extremely memorable.

Although intimidating at first, I found Prague extremely easy to navigate. After our first night out, I felt as though I had a pretty good understanding of the city’s

OXFORD UNIVERSITY Sidney: While abroad in London I had the opportunity to visit Oxford, also known as Hogwarts. Luckily, my friend, Ana, is studying there housed us.

Ana lives in Christ Church College, a grand beautiful college located right in the heart of Oxford University. Ana gave us a tour of the College, where we had the opportunity to see the exact staircase where scenes from Harry Potter were filmed. Being touristy Rachel & I had to get a picture on the stairs.

Later in the evening, we hit the town Oxford-style, which was vastly different from any other university experience I’ve had thus far. Since Oxford is a student town, everyone seemed to know each other, which was different from the other cities in Europe I’ve been to. It was a great experience to be able to get to know more students outside of NYU London and it definitely added to an already great weekend.

Travelling Sternies: A map of Sidney and Katherine's adventures across Europe

On our second and last day, we explored different areas of Oxford, including one of the libraries. When I stepped inside I felt like I had been transported back in time.

The bookshelves and overhanging balconies gave off the air of historical England.

The beauty of Oxford cannot be put into words; it is definitely a place I would recommend people to visit if they are in London.

BARCELONA Katherine: If there is one thing that I have learned this semester while studying in London, it is that the world is much smaller than you think. After unexpectedly running into friends from high school in both Prague and London, I decided to actually plan a trip to visit a close friend living in Barcelona.

After weeks of dreary London weather, I gladly left for warm and sunny Spain at the beginning of March. From the moment that I stepped foot off of the aircraft and onto the runway, I was in love with Spain. I spent my two-day trip wandering through the narrow streets of Barcelona, sitting on the beach, tasting Spanish tapas, and gawking at the views from Parc Guell and “The Bunker.” I shopped for fresh fruits at “La Boqueria” market and marvelled at the unique architecture of Antoni Gaudi. I had an unforgettable weekend getaway to Barcelona, but was welcomed back to an unusually sunny and warm London.

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INTERNATIONAL STUDENT LIFE news.paper

International Studies Program 2014 ll One of the most unique

courses that Stern offers is the International Studies Program (ISP), sponsored by the Barr family. Every junior is required to take this class, which explores the social, economic, political, and cultural climates of countries. ISP is one-of-a-kind and includes a week-long

international trip to one of three locations. Students are assigned a foreign company, research the company’s industry, meet with company executives, and observe a country’s culture. This year, the three locations were Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Santiago, Chile; and Barcelona, Spain.

Spring Break in Santiago Kavya Nagalla Class of 2015

ll DAY ONE: 3.15

On day one, we did not have any organized events until the welcome dinner. Many students used the free day to explore the surrounding neighborhood in Las Condes, dine at one of the numerous restaurants in the Parque Arauco mall, and stroll through the beautiful rose gardens of Parque Araucano. Later that night, all 200 of us on the ISP trip went to Los Buenos Muchachos, the oldest restaurant in Santiago, for a Chilean welcome dinner and dance performance courtesy of Stern. Sternie bonding ensued.

DAY TWO: 3.16 Expecting a “light trek,” I made the trip over to the Andes with the rest of my peers for a day hike up a “hill.” We arrived there and what we were to climb was not a hill; it is a fullblown mountain. The purpose of the activity? Teamwork.

After completing some bonding activities that worked on our trust and strategy skills, we faced the daunting task of making it up the mountain within teams of approximately eight students. Looking up at the mountain, the climb seemed difficult but doable; twothirds up the mountain, many students were visibly despondent. However, the sense of satisfaction and triumph once everyone peaked the mountain was worth the effort, and highfives and cheers were a common sight and sound.

DAY THREE: 3.17 Monday was the day of academic presentations, and we were encouraged to learn from and contribute to the innovative business strategies Chile engages in. The first guest speaker, from the Chilean Foreign Investment Committee, educated us on the status of the various industries within Chi-

le. The second set of presentations focused on growth within Chile, featuring organizations such as StartUp Chile.

DAY FOUR: 3.18 Day four was a free day, where students had a choice between a tour at the Concha y Toro winery and a beach trip to Viña Del Mar, a scenic coastal city. Half of us chose to go to on the beach trip.

Lesson of the day: your companions and the weather hold an equal weight as the place during travel. While the beach was cold and windy, bearing the undesirable climate of the day with around 100 of my peers, playing beach soccer and huddling against the cold was fun nonetheless.

DAY FIVE: 3.19 Our fifth day in Santiago was blocked for corporate visits. Other sections attended events for Chilectra and Walmart. Our section, however, was not assigned a specific company, but rather the entire Chilean tourism industry; we thus had speakers present to us on the various facets of the industry such as adventure traveling and hospitality. This is the first year an ISP professor had given students their own choice of company, rather than assigning one.

DAY SIX: 3.20 The last day was another free day until the buses departed for the airport. Quite a few of us were scrambling to find souvenirs for our loved ones, so we headed over to Pueblito Los Dominicos, a handicraft village. It was a tranquil and novel experience, as the shops were enclosed in a small village-type setting complete with little creeks and livestock. It was the perfect way to end a trip that I could only describe as sunny, mellow, and intimate.

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A Week Under the Vietnamese Sun Stephan Giordani Class of 2015

ll DAY ONE

We began the day with an organized tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels that served as the Viet Cong’s base of operations during the Vietnam War. Cramped and uncomfortably warm, they featured everything from kitchens and dining halls to medical wards and bomb shelters. That night, our welcome dinner was held outdoors by the river. Typical Vietnamese food was served as a musical ensemble played tropical music.

DAY TWO In the morning, we split up into different groups for a scavenger hunt that sent us through the streets of Ho Chi Minh City. We began our tour at the Reunification Pa-

lace, which held a replica of the infamous tank that ended the Vietnam War by breaking through the ground gates. We then headed to Ben Thanh Market, Saigon’s famous market where most Stern students purchased “Saigon” tank tops. You should keep an eye out for them whenever the warmth decides to show up! Afterwards, we headed to a park where we performed coordinated Tai-Chi exercises.

DAY THREE Most of Tuesday was dedicated to company visits. Each class went to a different company, which included VietJet Air, Vinamilk, Tan Hiep Phat Beverage Group, and FPT Software. My class visited Tan Hiep Phat, where company personnel showed us a corporate presentation and

then gave us a tour of their production facilities. We were able to see one of Vietnam’s top selling beverages being poured into hundreds of bottles every minute.

DAY FOUR Wednesday morning was dedicated to consumer field studies. We split up into groups, then headed to three different business establishments and studied the behavior of Vietnamese consumers. My group (Sea Turtles represent!) visited a small upscale mall, a karaoke bar, and an electronics store. At the karaoke venue, Professor Foudy gave us his rendition of “We Will Rock You.” DAY FIVE On Thursday, we had three different tour options. We could visit a local village and

cook a Vietnamese meal, go to a local market, or visit a beach two hours from Saigon.

The majority of us chose the beach, where we had access to a private resort. Some students played soccer on the beach while others enjoyed the warm waters and delicious grilled food. The grilled octopus was definitely a student favorite.

DAY SIX On our final day, we were given free time to explore the city. Some students picked up custom-made suits that cost only $100, while others made some last minute souvenir purchases at the local market. The most moving experience that day, however, was visiting the War Remnants Museum. Here, students had the chance to witness first-hand the local point of view of the Vietnam War.

Sunshine and Siestas: Visiting Barcelona Maria Xing Class of 2015

ll DAY ONE

After a long 10-hour flight consisting of 2048 and Frozen, I was ready to stretch my legs and explore Barcelona. Immediately upon arrival, however, we had to leave for a welcome dinner at the Palacio Del Flamenco, or Palace of Flamenco.

This event consisted of both a show and a delicious meal. For most of us, it was our first taste of Spain: salad, paella with shrimp, and a special Catalonian crème dessert. We were also introduced to the U.S. Consulate in Barcelona, who gave us some safety tips and precautions.

DAY TWO The first thing on my to-do list was to explore the city, and we were able to do so through our scavenger hunt activity. Students were divided into smaller groups and had to complete tasks at various landmarks. These landmarks were all situated in the older part of Barcelona, complete with gothic architecture and cathedrals. A favorite of mine was the Plaça Reial, or Royal Plaza. It reminded me of an older, more richly cultured Union Square.

After the scavenger hunt, a few friends and I headed to Camp Nou for the Barcelona v Osasuna match. It was a privilege to watch one of the best soccer teams in the world compete on their home turf, and to see one of the best players in the world, Lionel Messi.

DAY THREE

We took the bus to University of Navarra’s IESE business school, where we heard from some of their most renowned professors about Spain’s economy and history. Learning about their experiences firsthand was incredibly valuable. Following our lectures, we decided to visit Parc Guell, one of Barcelona’s architectural gems. Antoni Gaudi, a revered Catalan architect, designed the municipal garden’s famous columns and mosaics.

It is definitely a must visit!

DAY FOUR My company was Banco Sabadell, a commercial bank that was founded in Catalonia. The offices we visited were just outside of the city. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to take a look around, but we did get to hear from two senior

management representatives.

They told us about their successes and their strategy for the future. After doing so much research on the company, it was insightful to hear them speak. We departed Sabadell and spent the rest of the day at Barceloneta Beach, one of the better-known Mediterranean beaches.

tour of Montserrat, a mountain just outside of Barcelona. Montserrat, which means “serrated mountain,” is a cultural and spiritual center of Catalonia. We visited Santa Maria de Montserrat, a monastery where religious and retreat groups gather to worship. The view from up top was incredible.

DAY FIVE Wednesday was a day of no obligations, and it was great being able to walk around on our own. The first stop was La Sagrada Familia, an unfinished masterpiece by Gaudi that has been under construction since 1882. With colorfully tinted stained glass windows and stone ornaments, it is without a doubt one of Europe’s most recognizable tourist attractions. We then went on a

DAY FIVE AND A HALF Thursday didn’t count as a full day because we left for the airport at six in the morning, but it was nonetheless important. I spent most of the flight thinking about the amazing memories I had made in Barcelona, the new classmates I had bonded with, and the beautiful city that had welcomed us into its arms. Cheers, Barcelona. You are missed.

Sonali Karmarkar, Max Wiseltier, Chris Isakhanian, Arman Bhuiyan, and Maria Xing look over the Barcelona skyline PHOTO COURTESY OF MARIA XING

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Stern Launches First Art Gallery

Talented business students display their artwork at the first annual Stern Art Gallery SM Dipali Class of 2016

In a building that, on most days, is filled with students hyper concerned with their latest finance assignment, three undergraduate Stern students are attempting to transform how we view the “typical” business student. On April 16th, the entire 11th floor of KMEC was transformed into the unexpected: an art gallery.

“I came up with the idea of the Stern Art Gallery when I realized that a lot of my friends in Stern are really talented artists,” said Adrienne Liu, 14’, who is the director of the project. “But so many of our

friends and peers have no idea that their friends are fantastic painters, drawers, and photographers.”

Liu, with the help with Nick Wang, ’14, and Noah Sperber, ’14, have organized Stern’s first ever school-sponsored Art Gallery. The event will showcase pieces from Stern students of every grade, including at least one piece from every student who submitted their work to the team.

Stacy Chen, ‘17, a contributing artist, submitted several of her drawings, with themes varying from commentary on commercialism to existentialism.

“The reason why I applied

is first and foremost because I have a passion for art,” said Chen. “But even more than that, I loved that I could represent Stern through my art — that’s something so different from what Stern students are known for.”This is exactly what the directors of the project are looking to accomplish.

“As Sternies, we have a certain perception in the eyes of other students at NYU. We see ourselves in a certain way as well. It might not be bad, but it’s certainly limiting. The Art Gallery allows us to break that mold,” said Wang.

Much like the mission of the Art Gallery, Stern students and faculty have recently made

serious efforts to increase the diversity of the student body, both in terms of demographics and thought-processes.

More and more, students have access to new fields and networking events beyond the typical financial offerings.

“There are a lot of times when I don’t feel like I belong here. Sometimes the culture here can be kind of constraining. I feel like this Art Gallery is a step in the right direction” said Chen.

An avid painter herself and president of NYU’s painting club, Pictura, director Liu also hopes that the gallery will push less-artistic Stern students to do something

they may not think they are good at — a seemingly hardfought win in a student body known for its quantitative acumen, and not necessarily for its creative capabilities.

“What I want the Art Gallery to achieve is the whole idea of stepping out of your comfort zone. In business school, you have to try so hard to learn finance and accounting, and you’re pushing your brain that way. With art, you can push your brain in another way — you can push it creatively,” said Liu. Liu and her fellow directors have received a phenomenally positive response from across the NYU community.

PHOTOS BY: STEPHANIE LIN & LAUREN TAI

A student from NYU London asked to spotlight the Gallery on her blog; the NYU Art Department showed incredible enthusiasm for the event; students from every NYU school expressed excitement in attending the event.

“This type of response is so much more than what we imagined. But it’s exactly what we wanted in order to reach our goal. We wanted to make sure we were able to show that people in Stern are still creative — even if you might not have realized it before,” said Liu.

Spotlight on Student Entrepreneurs Lauren Tai Class of 2017

Entrepreneurship is becoming a new buzzword at Stern, with more students joining clubs like the Stern Entrepreneurial Exchange Group and the CAS Entrepreneurship Association. It has become a greater topic of discussion and an option for many students taking an active interest in the field.

Gallatin freshman Taylor Tobin is the creator of OneRightWater, a social venture in the business of selling reusable water bottles. For every bottle

sold online, one water filter is donated to citizens of Myanmar, through a partnership with Thirst Aid. Her idea came about after reading about the global water crisis and realizing that she could create a nonprofit to help solve this issue. By creating a tangible product, she felt that her generation could easily contribute to her social impact goal.

Tobin’s most difficult challenges were in managing logistics and establishing credibility in the market. Over the course

Some of the Ingredients used in making hand-made jewelry.

of two years, her organization has directly helped over 4,985 people in Myanmar. When asked what advice she would give other interested students, Tobin said, “If you really want to be successful, be prepared to face difficulties but try to have fun at the same time. You have to love it.”

Stern freshman Stephanie Zhang offers the same advice.

Zhang is the creator of Jezie Jewelry, an online store specializing in hand-made jewelry.

“Ever since I was a little kid,

I've loved Do-It-Yourself activities and arts and crafts so I always made jewelry for fun,” said Zhang, “It was then that I made a little online store with originally only five items that has now expanded to over fifty items and have shipped to over twenty countries.” Zhang is the head of speaker series for EEG and hopes that one day her business will expand to boutiques and celebrities.

“The reason I believe that PHOTO COURTESY OF JEZIE JEWELRY

less people go into entrepreneurship after Stern is because we have a heavy focus on finance,” said Gordon Wong, Stern freshman and Director of Operations for EEG, "However, entrepreneurship is a growing industry and with the right means people can become very successful.”

The list of successful NYU alumni entrepreneurs includes the founders of Audible.com, Foursquare, Etsy, Seamless

PHOTOS COURTESY OFONE RIGHT WATER

and Twitter.

Budding entrepreneurs at Stern can take part in various events, such as the EEX Conference held on April 4th, hosted by EEG, which included a diverse line-up of speakers, a keynote by Arianna Huffington, as well as panels on innovation, mobile technology and food entrepreneurship.

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Iota Nu Delta: My The Globalization of Modern Business Best Career Move Cindi Zhang Class of 2017

long and accomplished list of alumni involved finance, law, and medicine.

The most important aspect I came to NYU Stern in the fall of 2010 convinced I of my alumni relationships is was heading full-throttle down their authenticity — it’s not just the path toward investment about getting jobs. If you’re banking. Four years later, I’ve going to network with somelived in London and Shanghai, one, make it genuine. Try to find I’m the president of my social people that you truly get along fraternity, Iota Nu Delta, I’m with and build a substantive about to start a job in financial relationship from there.

I’ve had incredible luck builregulation and I like to think I’ve learned a few things along the ding successful alumni relationships during my undergraduate way.

I never thought I would join career because we connected a fraternity — business or social beyond the explicit purpose of — at NYU. The complaints and getting a job. In the past four charges against NYU Greek years, I’ve collected countless Life are all too familiar: it’s an business cards and sent thankunnecessary and inappropriate you and follow-up emails for days, but I could sacrifice all of culture.

However, pledging IND these cards to save only two. my freshman year was one of These two people have gotten the best decisions I made in me farther than the other 100 college. Social life at NYU can combined.

By all means, get to know as be very difficult, but IND has given me a group of friends many people as possible, and that I know I will never lose. always stay in contact. Send In four years at NYU people an interesting and relevant come and go: you might lose article you read or a happy birttouch with your beloved fresh- hday email; but remember, the man hall friends or maybe meet people you get along with and the love of your life studying take the time for are going to abroad only to lose them after help you more than knowing ten returning to New York. IND has random people across a firm.

For example, I secured given me solidarity of friendship and brotherhood that I know my junior year internship at doesn’t exist elsewhere at NYU, Fitch Ratings because an IND and being president of IND has alumnus emailed me to ask if taught me more than I knew I I needed help with recruiting.

He went over my cover letter, could learn. resume, and recommended me Leadership matters.

Why does every employer for two jobs, both of which I got like leadership experience? It interviews and offers for. I didn’t teaches you how to manage even know what I wanted to do people and projects in line but speaking with someone 15 with the organization’s overall years older, just like an older direction. Project and person- brother, gave me more insight nel management skills are not into that field than I could have things you’ll learn in class — hoped for.

This is why I firmly believe they comes only with experismall networks are far superior ence.

As president of a Greek to a massive list of thousands organization, not only did I learn of alumni. When you share management skills, but I also something unique with someworked constantly to navigate one, the relationship has more IND through university admi- depth, and you can make it nistration, alumni, IND National, work more deeply for you.

Chase a unique experience. and the Greek Councils. I’ve I was determined — just like built great relationships with NYU administrators, and we everyone else, it seemed — to were able to host events this do investment banking. Howeyear that put us on the map of ver, as undergrads our job is to NYU’s Greek life. The smartest learn, experience, and grow, not people don’t make it to the top only try to get an internship after of the financial world — the junior year.

Put yourself in new and chalmost-liked people do.

What I will really take away lenging situations. Joining NYU from my Presidency was that an Greek Life gave me access to a organization’s motivation, drive, unique and awesome commuand purpose all come from the nity. Studying abroad showed top of the management struc- me more of the world than I ture. When I slacked, my orga- even knew existed. Four years nization would slack; when I here have taught me to that new was on my game, we all succe- experiences are how we grow as people. Go out and experieded.

Networking relationships ence NYU and NYC beyond should focus on quality over the hallowed halls of Tisch and boundaries of Gould Plaza — quantity.

With nearly 20 year of history you’ll thank yourself for it. at this school, IND boasts a Arpan Patel Class of 2014

One of NYU Stern’s selling points as the ideal undergraduate business school is its international network. In addition to attracting an overwhelming number of international students each year, it provides a business curriculum

In collaboration with the Office of Global Studies, ISA invited international student advisor Alison Jackson to discuss internship and visa must-knows for international students. The briefing was especially helpful for international students planning to pursue internships via optional practical training. Sherman Chen, Stern ’17, felt that the session was “extremely helpful because OGS has limited advising hours.” In one hour, Jackson guided students through the complicated work visa process.

To supplement its informational and professional workthat encourages international shops, ISA organizes social exposure. Stern’s international activities such as the “Explore focus was the bedrock for the a Cuisine” series. Every Saturfounding of Stern International day, students can join ISA for Students’ Association, whose an adventurous dinner at an goal is to build a community of exotic restaurant featuring a internationally-minded people. foreign cuisine. Underclassmen interact with upperclass-

men over dinner, learning about their experiences and meeting friends from different cultural backgrounds.

In ISA, community building goes beyond events. A specially designed mentorship program has successfully connected international students with older Stern students. The best mentor is one who has walked the same path as the mentee. “I love my mentor!” said Mary Seo, Stern ’17, “We came from the same city and she knows exactly what life at Stern feels like for students like me.”

International students often find themselves overwhelmed by the academic, social and internship opportunities New York City has to offer. ISA aims to be the home-away-fromhome for international students as they build a community and tap into Stern’s international network.

Mentorship Culture in Finance Society Yashwant Chunduru Class of 2015

As a wide-eyed freshman, it is really easy to feel overwhelmed walking through the club fair at Gould Plaza.

You could be intimidated by the upperclassmen that you see behind the tables and promotional posters at the club fair, especially at one of the nation’s premier finance institutions. However, the goal of any club here at Stern is quite the opposite of intimidation.

The goal of a club is to educate its members and provide them with opportunities to expand their academic and professional knowledge. In the Finance Society we aim to go above and beyond this goal by fostering a strong mentorship culture.

In the fall semester, we typically bring in the big investment banks to present on various topics, and then host a networking session afterwards.

These events are aimed at juniors and sophomores seeking summer internships, because networking is vital.

We’ve had Credit Suisse talk about IPOs, Morgan Stanley talk about M&As, Evercore talk about restructuring, and Goldman Sachs talk about the life of an analyst, among others.

In the spring, we gear our events towards freshman and sophomores, as we host speakers from smaller firms and useful workshops.

While hosting these events and bringing in high quality speakers solidifies the club’s position as one of the most popular clubs on campus, the club’s members are what really differentiate it.

When I was an underclassman, I looked up to the E-Board of the Finance Society. These students were not only smart and successful, but also affable and approachable. They were the kinds of people I wanted to hang out with after school. As my career at Stern progressed, I strived to emulate their success. I would not be where I am today if I didn’t have these role models to look up to.

Getting through Stern is much easier with guidance from upperclassmen that were once in your shoes.

At the Finance Society, we facilitate this by running a mentorship program with its executive committee, as well as a limited amount of general members. We also host sporadic “Fireside Chats,” during which our board members grab food or coffee with underclassmen and talk finance. We understand the value of upperclassmen help, so we focus on perpetuating this mentorship culture that has been instilled in the club as a driving force of our success.

Members of Finance Society sit in for a Credit Suisse presentation

PHOTO COURTESY OF FINANCE SOCIETY

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