Finance Major
"Eberly has provided me with an excellent education and experiences that have supplemented my academics. The relationships I have made with many of my professors have helped me to succeed in my classes and provide a better overall academic experience. My involvement in the business honors program and the Student Managed Investment Portfolio has given me the tools necessary to land a rewarding internship and the resources to encourage a successful career search.
"Having been raised in the Pittsburgh area, I have always wanted to attend a college or university within western Pennsylvania. Seeing that IUP had a growing, high-quality business program, and thinking I would fit in best at this size of a university, knowing that my academic and career goals would be fostered within Eberly, based on those parameters, I chose IUP.
"My experiences at IUP have been enhanced through my involvement in a wide variety of activities. As a freshman, I was introduced to the Residence Hall Council (RHC) by my community assistant (CA). I decided to run for and was elected treasurer for RHC, where I was able to work closely with the resident directors on campus. My continued involvement in RHC led me to take a course to become a CA, with the intentions of giving back to my future residents by getting them involved, just as my CA had done for me.
"I have been involved in the largest community service fraternity on campus, Alpha Phi Omega (APO), since pledging during the Spring semester of 2009. I joined because I share some of my core values with the organization, such as service and leadership. As a member of APO, I have been able to develop those skills more.
"After becoming an active brother at the end of the 2009 Spring semester, I wanted to involve myself in the organization in ways that I could not as a pledge. My first full semester as a brother I was assigned a pledge to help guide him through the pledging process. Together we bonded, and I helped to make his experience more meaningful, enjoyable, and beneficial to our community.
"Although I enjoyed my role of helping pledges, I was still searching for ways to contribute in a capacity that others could not. With a current opening on the executive committee as treasurer, and being the only Finance major in the fraternity, I ran for and was eventually elected to the position. As the treasurer, I used what I had learned in my business classes to develop semi-annual budgets and forecast our financial condition into the next semester and the following academic year. I had been the first treasurer in our chapter's recent history to go this in-depth and become as much involved with the position.
"Because of my dedication to the fraternity and the treasurer position, I helped to increase our average daily balance of under $900 when I was elected to currently over $4,500 within less than one year. I have achieved this through keeping accurate records of income and expenses and using this information to make more effective decision-making based on accurate budgets and forecasted statements.
"During my sophomore year, I became involved in the Business Honors program, where I have been exposed to opportunities that other students have not. I traveled to Bangalore, India, where we placed second in an international business competition. As a result of being in the Honors Program, one of my peers introduced me to the Student Managed Investment Portfolio (SMIP). There, I have risen to become sector leader for the Healthcare and Financial sectors. I am confident that my involvement in SMIP has helped me to obtain my internship with the Bank of New York Mellon last summer.
"Whether being involved in student life, or in Eberly, I have found that it is the relationships I have formed that lead me to becoming more involved. I am confident that the relationships I have made at IUP will continue to benefit me throughout my career search."