Amie Nguyen
Written by Celesia Smith
Major: Canfield BHP, Finance Area of Research: Private Equity
Topics of Interest: Sustainable Fashion, Entrepreneurship, Private Equity
In addition to diving into various classes, organizations, and internships, many Canfield BHP students immerse themselves in a part of academia that truly makes UT a premier university: the research. Such a student is Amie Nguyen, a junior Canfield BHP and Finance double major. Amie conducts research for Dr. Scott W. Bauguess, her former finance professor and the Director of the Salem Center program in Financial Markets Regulation.
“I’m basically looking at the data for private offering filings,” Amie said. “Whenever a company raises money through a private offering, whether that’s debt or equity or something else, they have to file with the SEC, so I’m looking at the SEC data and trying to determine what kind of companies are looking for these private offerings. (I’m looking at) the type of companies, the number of offerings they’re offering, and a lot of different things about private offerings in general.”
After enjoying Dr. Bauguess’s class, Amie got the opportunity to conduct research for him over the summer. Amie’s interest in private equity as a career led her to research private offerings specifically, giving her more insight into how the offerings function.
“This summer I’ll actually be interning at McQuarry, which is an infrastructure private equity firm. When I interned with them last summer, I saw how they negotiate and what sort of investments they put their money into and how they think about choosing what to put their money into,” Amie said. “But you never really see the actual transactions and what needs to happen, so this research is just filling in that missing information that I wouldn’t otherwise have gotten.”
Ultimately, Amie’s research allows her to more fully piece together the world of private equity, but it also invites her to develop new technical skills. She said it’s always a good idea to research in the career or academic area you want to eventually work in.
“For example, if private equity is like something you want to get into, I’d recommend specifically researching private equity and even asking alumni who you might know at those firms about like what it is that they do,” Amie said. “It’s important to know the difference between the various finance roles and research helps with that.”
Of course, the Canfield Business Honors Program influenced Amie’s experience in both recruiting and research. Amie said the Canfield BHP community has supported her in various ways.
“Obviously my best friends are in Canfield BHP and they support me. They’re always there to congratulate me or there to console me. They are just the biggest support system. I also wouldn’t have had a research opportunity had I not met Dr. Bauguess through the honors programs, so I have CBHP to thank for my research role.”