(From New York City to Budapest, Hungary, to Missoula, Montana, our recent alumni are forging interesting and meaningful careers. Below, some of the members of the School of Business’ Class of 2017 share updates on their career highlights and the key aspects of their UConn education that have helped along the way.)
Anthony D’Amelio ’17
Major in the School of Business: Real Estate & Urban Economics
Title/Organization: Associate, Equity, Debt & Structured Finance at Cushman & Wakefield
Residence: New York, NY
What was your biggest career highlight to date? “Closing on a $13.4MM bridge loan in 3 weeks.”
What do you miss most about UConn or the School of Business? “UConn’s Real Estate Society.”
What UConn program/experience/organization helped you perform well in your current role? “Without a doubt, the Center for Real Estate. The curriculum and support received from the Center is second to none, and what I learned in the classroom is utilized each and every day on the job.”
What essential workplace skill did you learn while you were at UConn? “There is seldom ever just one “right” answer in real estate. My business and general education courses at UConn sparked, and fostered, a level of creative thinking that has been a tremendous skill in approaching unique scenarios and advising clients on the job.”
What do you enjoy most about your current job? “I enjoy that no two deals are ever the same, and that each day comes with a new set of lessons. I also enjoy working with my colleagues at Cushman & Wakefield, who have become my family over the past two years.”
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Sarah Nesci ’17
Major in the School of Business: Business Management
Title/Organization: Americorp VISTA Operations Manager
Residence: Missoula, MT
Biggest job highlight? “Helping start a glass recycling business in a town without any glass recycling.”
Thing I miss most about UConn? “Great faculty advisors and working in the Dean’s Office.”
What UConn program/experience/organization helped you perform well in your current role? “The Study Abroad Program and the First Year Experience Program gave me the opportunities to become more of a leader at UConn. I taught weekly info sessions for the Study Abroad Program to current students, and I helped teach two FYE classes with different instructors. These programs helped me gain the confidence to step outside of my comfort zone while gaining valuable leadership experience.”
What essential workplace skill did you learn while you were at UConn? “The most essential skill I learned at UConn was how to manage my time. Since I’m in charge of so much at the recycling company, it’s important that I prioritize every day and give myself time to get certain things done first.”
What do you enjoy most about your current job? “I enjoy being able to have autonomy and creating something needed in my community. Because the company is new and small, it allows me the creative freedom to focus on what I see as most important to success for glass recycling in Missoula.”
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Sean Elliott ’17
Major in the School of Business: Finance
Title/Organization: Investment Banking Analyst, MVP Capital LLC
Residence: San Francisco, Calif.
What was your biggest career highlight to date? “In my previous position at Moody’s, I was a co-author to numerous research articles regarding the high-yield bond market.”
What do you miss most about UConn or the School of Business? “The anticipation of game day on campus for UConn basketball!”
What UConn program/experience/organization helped you perform well in your current role? “The Student Managed Fund helped teach the hard skills such as valuation analysis, as well as the important soft skills like presenting to senior management and asking insightful questions.”
What essential workplace skill did you learn while you were at UConn? “The ability to utilize resources as efficiently as possible. Scouring research subscriptions, Bloomberg, and keeping up with publications like WSJ, Barron’s, and Value Line have helped me quickly learn new industries, companies, and provide insightful support.”
What do you enjoy most about your current job? “The constant innovation within the industry. No two deals that come across our desk seem to be the same. The entrepreneurial spirit involved in the capital-raising process amongst startup and middle market firms have provided great first hand learning experiences.”
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Kate Morehead ’17
Major in the School of Business: Marketing with concentration in Digital Marketing & Analytics
Title/Organization: Online Account Executive, Zoom Video Communications
Residence: Denver, Colorado
What was your biggest career highlight to date? “Being in sales, we always have a quota to hit! My first quarter at Zoom, I hit 245 percent of my number and haven’t missed a quarter in my year of being here.”
What do you miss most about UConn or the School of Business? “I miss working in the Office of Undergraduate Advising with all of the amazing advisors that helped get to where I am today!”
What essential workplace skill did you learn at UConn? “I didn’t get in my first time applying to the School of Business, but I worked hard and got in my second try. Just a piece of advice for anyone applying to the School of Business – enjoy the process! Even if you don’t get in the first time around – there is always opportunity if you put the work in.”
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Lihui Katharine Pang ’17
Major in the School of Business: Accounting
Title/Organization: Auditor with PwC
Residence: Currently work and live in Budapest, Hungary. Moving to NYC in October 2019
What was your biggest career highlight to date? “International work rotation”
What do you miss most about UConn or the School of Business? “I miss the Lodewick Visitors Center and giving tours at UConn the most. It was the best three years of my life! I was able to build up so much confidence in myself and in public speaking.”
What UConn program/experience/organization helped you perform well in your current role? “The Business Connections Learning Community, Alpha Kappa Psi, and the Accounting Department contributed to my success in my current role. To me, there were two huge barriers between me and the real business world – the first one being the cultural barrier given I’m from China; another one being the barrier between college and real world. They prepared me well for both.
“There was this BCLC Network Workshop I attended that first helped me get an idea about the American business world. And the Accounting Department recruiting process helped me gain more networking skills to interact with real recruiters and professionals. Junior and senior years I was invited back as a guest speaker to offer new BCLC students advice, and that also helped me gain confidence in how much I grew with the School of Business and UConn.”
What essential workplace skill did you learn while you were at UConn? “Professional etiquette through BCLC and AKPsi, such as how to properly dress for different business occasions, interview skills, how to professionally send emails, how to write thank-you note, presentation skills, etc…”
What do you enjoy most about your current job? “I love how being an auditor I’m able to learn a client’s core business and get access to its key financials right away, and the opportunity to really dive into the specific client industry to gain experience in depth and expand my horizon. Also this job takes me to all kinds of places, places I never thought I would go or live, such as my tour in Europe right now.”
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Roma Romaniv ’17
Major in the School of Business: Finance
Title/Organization: Senior Analyst at Citigroup
Residence: New York, NY
What was your biggest career highlight to date? “Having the opportunity to work directly with clients (CEOs and CFOs) and working on some of the most interesting IPOs this year (Uber, Fiverr, SmileDirect).”
What do you miss most about UConn or the School of Business? “I especially miss seeing so many of my friends and professors every day. It was great to spend so much time with such a smart, fun and nice group of people. I really miss my Student Managed Fund group! And although I see some of these same people now, working full time makes it more difficult to stay in touch with everyone.”
What UConn program/experience/organization helped you perform well in your current role? “I think SMF and the UConn Consulting group probably taught me the most: from general skills in managing your time and projects to a deeper knowledge of finance and understanding businesses.”
What essential workplace skill did you learn while you were at UConn? “I think I developed a great base in financial and market knowledge, but I also learned how to think critically and approach problems that don’t always have solutions. My finance classes gave me a really good base in the general workings and language of capital markets. Working on more open ended/ capstone projects gave me the ability to approach something from scratch and set out a plan to complete it.”
What do you enjoy most about your current job? “I really enjoy working with our clients and the people around me. We work with some really exciting companies in the tech space and the team I work with is amazing. I love learning about new markets, business models and challenges companies face. Everyone that I work with I genuinely enjoy spending time with!”
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Samantha Medvin ’17
Major in the School of Business: Accounting
Title/Organization: Banking & Capital Markets Associate at PwC
Residence: New York, NY
What was your biggest career highlight to date? “The opportunity to work with a global investment firm and expand my professional network with my colleagues and clients.”
What do you miss most about UConn or the School of Business? “The tight-knit network within the UConn School of Business.”
What UConn program/experience/organization helped you perform well in your current role? “Working as a financial accounting TA gave me early exposure to coaching opportunities.”
What essential workplace skill did you learn while you were at UConn? “Collaboration.”
What do you enjoy most about your current job? “Being part of a large team with people who make each day fun and exciting.”