Alumni Advice to Students Is on the Money

Lasting impact

Keynote speakers and panelists represented a range of industries: from tech and commercial real estate to finance, investment banking, operations, private equity, venture capital, marketing and personal finance planning. The presenters touched on a broad array of topics – the importance of networking, the value of being a team player and the impact of AI and tech on finance jobs. They shared personal stories on making the transition from college to career, on handling adversity and their pivotal career decisions. They dispensed advice and answered student questions on the importance of listening and lifelong learning, on being open to entry-level jobs, career readiness and having reasonable salary expectations.

Soaking it all in was Troy Nguyen, a second-year math and economics major who is exploring careers in finance. The event opened his eyes to jobs that he was not aware of before, and he also heard from more than one speaker about the important role of networking. It got him thinking about joining campus organizations.

“I will try to join clubs relating to my major and actively network with others,” Nguyen said.

The words of advice and personal stories of alumni and other panelists also resonated with senior Sweta Musini.

“All the advice and insights I heard from the panelists, I anticipate keeping in mind for years to come in my career,” said Musini, who is majoring in math and economics. “A few of my favorite insights were about how working with smaller firms can allow you to learn more as you get to wear many hats, not to answer texts in the morning in a hurry because you're not responding with the same emotion as the sender and how being intellectually curious can make you a subject matter expert, making you more valuable to an employer ”

The talks by guest speakers were interspersed with alumni coffee chats and workshops presented by members of various student clubs on topics such as the dos and don'ts of networking, how to present yourself during job interviews and sustainable investing.

The conference began with an opening keynote address by Erich Gazaui, a Department of Economics alumnus who is chief information officer of Papa, a company that provides eldercare resources. Gazaui was previously senior vice president of technology operations at ZipRecruiter. Aryeh Bourkoff, also an economics alumnus and founder and CEO of LionTree, an investment bank specializing in telecom, media and tech, delivered the closing keynote speech. In 2022, UC San Diego’s RIMAC Center was renamed LionTree Arena in recognition of the scholarship fund established by Bourkoff. He has served as a co-chair for the $3B comprehensive campaign for UC San Diego.

Other economics department alumni who returned to campus to share  their experiences, career highlights and words of wisdom included Craig Foster, chief financial officer at PicsArt; Daniel Torreblanca, certified financial planner and co-founder of Guardtower Financial Services; Patrick Ru, executive director and banker at J.P. Morgan Private Bank; Robin Suazo, a senior analyst with Wells Fargo’s commercial real estate banking group; Caeden Hart, an economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics; and Ben Teicher, a director for two private equity-backed companies and member of advisory boards of three private companies.

A reimagined career conference

When Karen Doescher, director of industry relations and student professional development in the Department of Economics, began planning “Future of Finance” a year ago, her intent was to bring together students, student organizations, alumni, industry experts, career services staff and faculty leadership in one place with one goal.

“I envisioned an event that would help students explore career possibilities in finance, offer tangible advice on what to do as a student to prepare for a future career and feel a greater sense of connection to UC San Diego alumni and the business community,” Doescher said.

She enlisted the help of several student clubs to create buzz about the conference among their peers. As a result, the event drew an audience that included economics majors as well as students who have paired economics with disciplines like math and data science. There was also a smattering of majors such as cognitive science and biochemistry.

"Collaborating with student organizations increases student engagement and attendance at my events,” Doescher said. “The student groups also help to prepare their members for networking and recruitment events like this, so students have their elevator pitch and resume ready, ask thoughtful questions, and are better prepared to maximize the benefit from connecting with alumni and employer representatives.”

“Future of Finance” also provided a platform for students to make initial contact with employers like Wells Fargo and Collins Aerospace.

“Each of the six representatives from Wells Fargo had a line of students that stretched across the room, waiting to speak with them and hand a copy of their resume,” Doescher said. “The two Collins Aerospace representatives preferred open networking. They spoke with students, one small group at a time, and collected resumes.”

Working alongside Doescher were student organizers Sweta Musini, Jacob Yang and Masha Trachuk who were involved in every aspect of planning and execution. They provided their perspectives on how to develop an event that is useful to students, input on topics and content that would resonate with their peers, helped identify potential speakers that students would want to meet and marketed the event on campus.

“This event could not have been such a great success without my team of student assistants,” Doescher said.

Participating in planning and executing the event was a valuable experience for the students who worked alongside Doescheer.

“It furthered my experience in event planning and execution," Musini said. "The event was also a chance for me to strengthen my own networking and client coordination skills, which is always valuable.”

Doescher is already brainstorming ideas for next year’s “Future of Finance” event. She plans to include more student-led workshops and invite more employers to participate in the conference. Merrill Lynch and Equity Methods have already expressed interest in coming to the 2026 event, she said.

“The conference was a resounding success, and I can't wait to do it again bigger and better next year,” Doescher said. “Throughout the conference, I had students coming up to me in the hallway or between sessions to thank me for organizing this and to say that it was a valuable experience for them. Each guest speaker I spoke with said they enjoyed the experience and want to be considered for future events. Several expressed an interest and willingness to mentor students on their individual journeys. I also heard comments on how incredibly smart and talented UC San Diego students are.”