Student Spotlight: Catherine Cheng

Majors: Canfield BHP, Finance, Certificate of Computer Science

Company: Evercore Investment Banking – Manhattan

Position: Summer Investment Banking Analyst – Mergers and Acquisitions

Topics of Interest: Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Venture Capital

Class: Senior, Class of 2020

Catherine Cheng is a rising senior who’s excited for her final year in college. Throughout her first three years at UT, she focused on the University Securities Investment Team (USIT) – a finance organization out of the McCombs School of Business where she is the sitting president. Next year, she plans on starting a new internal USIT division focused on market intelligence where the topics of computer and data science will integrate with the more traditional aspects of finance – an integration that she and her peers at USIT have long asked for. Catherine and her team hope to establish this new division at USIT for the benefit of future generations and enable students of all majors to learn and pursue their interests in quantitative finance and data science.

Additionally, Catherine has been an active member of the Genesis Program – a student alumni effort to help student entrepreneurs raise capital at UT – where she currently serves as Due Diligence Partner. Catherine explains that she’s always been interested in finance and more specifically, venture-capital. “That’s basically what my journey has been like here at McCombs. I’m focusing on finance but more specifically, helping student entrepreneurs. Going into senior year, I’m actually really excited to have slightly fewer classes because it means I’m going to have more time to give back to both the finance and entrepreneurship communities.”

When Catherine made her college decision, she wrote an op-ed piece for the student-run publication “FreshU” titled, ‘Why I Rejected MIT’, and if you haven’t already read it, I encourage you to do so. Catherine discusses her reasons for deciding on Canfield BHP at UT versus the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It’s a wonderfully-refreshing look behind a student’s indecision between two outstanding programs and the process of elimination. I wanted to talk to her about her thoughts behind this piece and more. Continue reading

Alumni Spotlight: Aaras Shah

Aaras Shah is the Associate Director of Finance at Zeta Charter Schools, an organization whose mission is to build and sustain high-performing schools that forge thriving communities of lifelong learners, problem solvers, and innovators. At Zeta, Aaras leads budgeting, accounting, and financial analysis for the organization. Previously, he worked at Bain & Company as a Senior Associate Consultant where he focused on strategy and cost-work for Fortune 500 clients across a variety of industries. Aaras got his start working with charter schools at KIPP DC as a Strategic Projects Extern supporting their academic team. He graduated from McCombs in 2015 with degrees in Canfield BHP and finance. We caught up with Aaras recently and talked about his experiences at Zeta and how Canfield BHP helped prepare him for his journey. Continue reading

Student Spotlight: Nivva Emmi

 


Majors:
Canfield BHP, Finance, Pre-Med

Company: Apple

Position: Americas Operations Intern – Austin, TX

Topics of Interest: Healthcare Administration and Management, Mergers and Acquisitions, Mental Health, Biotechnology

Your time in college can be challenging but it can also be a wonderful time of self-exploration. You find out who you are and what you want to achieve during this time. The chance to explore what goals you want to achieve in life and how you can reach them makes these years especially crucial. With access to so many student organizations, it’s easy to find yourself planning about how in the world you’re going to be in so many different places at once and whether or not you have the time to commit to all of them equally. It’s a slippery slope that often leads to burnout and exhaustion. The important thing to remember is that you’re human and your time here is finite. This makes it doubly important that you prioritize what you want to achieve so you can do so with purpose and avoid the pitfalls that come with doing too many things at once.

We caught up with Nivva Emmi recently to talk about this and her aspirations. Between prioritizing goals and also having time to give back to her community in tangible ways, Nivva has dedicated herself to helping other people as much as she can. Nivva is a sophomore (soon to be Junior) majoring in Canfield BHP, Finance, and she’s also Pre-Med. Nivva isn’t just someone who is interested in the world of Canfield BHP, Finance, and Pre-Med as separate categories. Rather, she is someone who is deeply invested in the synergy found between them and the role they play in the lives of others. Continue reading