Finance and Economics Majors
"The Eberly College of Business and Information Technology and its great faculty have opened me to so many amazing opportunities I never even imagined before coming to IUP. I truly believe that had I not come to IUP, my future professional outlook would not be nearly as prosperous."
I was born and raised in Erie, PA. I actually did not start my college career at IUP, but rather transferred to IUP after I decided IUP was able to offer me everything the other college offered and more at a much more reasonable cost. The most notable thing that I noticed right away in Eberly was that I was not treated as a number; the professors really wanted to get to know me and were genuinely interested in my professional success.
I am majoring in Finance and Economics with minors in both Mathematics and Applied Statistics. My education at IUP is certainly one that I consider as high a caliber as an expensive private university. What a student can gain from college is directly related to the amount of effort that student puts into his or her education. I feel as though I gave IUP and Eberly everything I had to offer and, in return, I received a high-class education.
One of the first programs I became involved with upon coming to IUP was the Eberly College of Business Honors Program. This is a great program which brings together highly motivated business students to take several honors-level business courses with the same group of students their entire time at IUP. I have made many friends in these courses and was even elected as a cohort leader in the program.
Two other organizations in which I am an active member are the Student Finance Association (SFA) and the Student Managed Investment Portfolio (SMIP). I joined the SFA my first semester at IUP, spring of 2010. Upon joining, I wanted to become more involved than I already was so I ran for secretary of SFA and won. My experiences as secretary gave me my initial leadership experience in a college organization; I was responsible for keeping proper records of meetings, keeping members informed on what the upcoming events were, and discussing future plans with my fellow officers. In the following year, I became the organization's president. As president, I raised club membership drastically, organized several fundraising events, and brought in several guest speakers in the financial field.
As a result of my participation in the Student Finance Association, I have met several IUP alumni that have offered to assist me in achieving my career goals. I can attribute my involvement in SFA as part of the reason why I was given the opportunity to intern with PNC Financial Services in the Finance Group for the summer of 2012.
Student Managed Investment Portfolio (SMIP) gives students an opportunity to experience first-hand what real world investing is like. SMIP manages assets of over $200,000 and is run completely by college students. I am proud to be a member of both organizations. I certainly feel as though I have benefited greatly from my involvement in each.
Brian is currently a Financial Analyst in the Finance Analyst Development Program at The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (as of Fall 2013).