Update

Bored this week. Don't have finals until December 14th besides this class obviously so struggling to focus on studying with all the distractions around. Nothing new mostly glad the semester is coming to an end as I could use a break plus sad to hear all the bad press/ media surrounding Tiger Woods.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone.

Photos from New York City Trip

So below are a collection of photos from my recent trip to New York City. Unfortunately I was in meetings most of the time there so didn't get the opportunity to explore New York CIty yet I made the most out of it. Here they are enjoy.

(The Group in Time Square)

(Times Square)

(With Mr. William Carey the Billionaire Real Estate Mogul and the Founder of the W. P. Carey School of Business)

(The Group at the Wall Street Bull)

(The Infamous Wall Street Sign)

(The Group Ice Skating at Rockefeller Square)

(Empire State Building)

(Time Square after the Yankees won the World Series)

(Morgan Stanley Headquarters)

Real World Experience vs Academics

In the past week I have thought a lot about the difference between Real World Experience vs Academics. I have been comparing and contrasting the two seeing which one is worth dedicating more time to overall. As both are very time consuming I have to give and take and prioritize one over the other. The goal in my life is to get to Wall Street and become a trader for a top firm before I venture off and start up my own Hedge Fund. Two weeks ago I was in New York meeting with various investment bankers/traders finding out everything there is to know about the industry and most importantly how to get my foot in the door. From what I have heard is that networking is the most important aspect to get an internship and ultimately land myself an opportunity to showcase my skills. What many of the folks in New York stressed was the fact that since I do go to Arizona State University and not an Ivy League most will not even take my education into account therefore consider a 4.0 at ASU not the same as a 4.0 at an Ivy League. Biased, obviously yes but this is the way it is. What they did say is that if I have the extras and the contacts then that would give myself the strongest opportunity to succeed. As a result, I have decided to lax a little bit on school overall to put a 100% effort into networking everyday. Being an Investment Banking Industry Scholar at ASU I have learned the ins and outs of Networking and have become very proficient in finding contacts. As a result, now I do about two cold calls to Wall Street professionals a day to get my name out there and sell them on why I am qualified. So far my contact list has expanded to around 180 with the goal of getting it to around 500. In the lines of work, I also have several other projects in play that should make me stand out as I go through the interview process yet its too early to share those details.

Something Different: All-Nighters

So this week started off bad as I did not find out until Sunday night that I had an Economics Test on Monday morning. As a result, at 10 PM I went to Hayden to begin preparing for the test. With the help of a few 5 hour energy drinks I was up for 35 straight hours studying for both this test and other homework assignments. Was it the right decisions? Well I did do well on the test but I have been so tired the past few days it has been hard to concentrate. I am finally getting back into my old self so lets hope all will be fine as I head into the weekend.

IDEO

I run my own Stocks website http://stocksonwallstreet.net/ and I think I could use the IDEO ideas to help tweak little parts of the site that could be improved. By being innovative I could make the site more appealing to users therefore making it more profitable by attracting more visitors.

New York City Part 3

Back in Tempe now. What a relief, escaping the cold and the packed city streets of New York. Overall the trip was great success. The dinner at Mr. W.P. Carey’spenthouse apartment on Park Ave was unbelievable. It was an Arizona State University Alumni dinner with around ninety successful individuals working with the financial fields in New York City. It was an amazing experience that helped further my career with the numerous amounts of high-level contacts I met. As for Friday, unfortunately I missed the Yankees World Series parade. Unfortunate yes, but my focus of the trip was to network and land an internship for next summer so as a result I was at J.P. Morgan for meetings throughout the day. Looking back I had a great time during my trip. Exhausted now especially after the USC vs ASU game, in which we almost won, but anyways New York is an incredible world, fast pace and all. My plans are to fly back in January for further interviews so lets hope it all goes well and I will keep you updated. Have a good weekend. (Will post pictures of the trip next week, or at least the few I have)