An Interview with Kristin Carew, President of the Carnegie Mellon Undergraduate Finance Association (UFA)
1. What are the goals of the UFA and can you tell me how the organization got started?
UFA’s primary goal since its founding in 2000 has always been to provide Carnegie Mellon students who are interested in finance careers with opportunities to learn more about the industry, supplementing academic courses in finance with events and workshops open to students from all majors.
We work toward this goal by offering case competitions, networking events, information sessions, professor dinners, guest speakers, alumni panels, and other activities.
2. How is the organization structured? What sets the UFA apart from other organizations?
Our organization has an e-board with a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Activities Director, Marketing Director, and IT Director. We also have several committees that focus on specific types of events like case competitions or alumni programs. UFA sets itself apart from other organizations by catering to students interested in a wide range of occupations in the financial industry, from corporate finance to jobs on Wall Street.
3. Kristin, can you tell me about yourself? How did you get involved with UFA and become President?
I’m a junior in Carnegie Mellon’s Business Administration program, with a track in finance and an International Relations and Politics minor. I got involved with UFA in the first semester of my freshman year, when I interviewed for a position on the e-board and became Activities Director. As a freshman, I knew I wanted to major in business, but I was uncertain about what particular career path to follow – finance was among my interests, and becoming an active member of UFA helped me decide that I wanted to pursue a job on Wall Street. I’ve held a few different positions on the e-board since my freshman year, including Secretary and Vice President. I’m in the process of transitioning into the role of President now, since our last President is graduating at the end of the semester.
4. What advice do you have for students who are looking for a job on Wall Street?
Get involved with relevant campus organizations, and learn everything you can by participating in clubs, reading books about the industry, and following publications like the Wall Street Journal. And don’t be afraid to reach out to alumni contacts working for firms you’re interested in – networking always helps, and they can give you a lot of valuable information about the kind of work they do.
5. What stock investment do you like right now?
Lately, I like Salesforce.com (CRM). Salesforce.com is a major player in several sectors of the growing cloud computing market, including Software as a Service and Platform as a Service applications, and it has posted impressive growth in revenue and earnings per share over the last several years.
6. Where can students go to get more information about the UFA or to reach out to you?
We can be reached by email at finance@andrew.cmu.edu, and we also maintain a group on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2200705364&ref=ts) and a Twitter account (http://www.twitter.com/CMU_UFA). Our website, cmufinanceclub.com, is currently undergoing a full redesign and should be back up later this semester.
