Experiential Learning in “The Big Apple”
Contributed by: William Lavigne ’27, President of Finance & Accounting Club at Albertus Magnus College
Sometimes, the best learning experiences happen outside the classroom. A great example of this occurred recently when a group of 13 Albertus Magnus College students, many from the College’s Finance & Accounting Club, took a field trip to New York City. We visited the headquarters of both Dow Jones and UBS, attending presentations filled with helpful advice from professionals who were in our shoes as students not too long ago.
This trip was an amazing experience, allowing us to engage with industry leaders who shared their perspectives on different career fields and provided insight into what is available to us after graduation. One takeaway that stuck with me was a piece of advice that we heard from an employee at The Vanguard Group. He told us that being authentic is what matters most in the finance world. While you should strive to be the best you can, you don’t necessarily have to be the smartest person in the room to succeed. If you are authentic and build genuine connections, you can have a long and successful career.
This advice particularly resonated with me because, while I have been so focused on perfecting my technical skills, I sometimes forget that, at the end of the day, working in finance or accounting is a job working with people. You will constantly be interacting with clients, managers and colleagues, and if you have a good relationship with them, you will enjoy the work that you do much more.
Field trips like this provide students with very valuable learning opportunities outside of the traditional classroom. It introduced many of us to what a corporate setting looks like and what a commute to NYC could feel like. You don’t always get these types of learning experiences in a classroom environment.
Our memorable day was made possible thanks to Trustee and Albertus alumna Rosemarie Dios ‘80 and her daughter Gloria Dios. Wealth management professionals based in The Hamptons and New York City, Rose and Gloria generously sponsor Dow Jones’ Investing in Education program at the College. Through this partnership, any Albertus student could register to receive free digital subscriptions to Barron’s and MarketWatch, expanding their access to financial education and industry career resources. There are also opportunities to go on field trips like this one and become Student Ambassadors of the program, which provides a leg up for one of the many summer internships that Dow Jones offers across the country.
If you are an Albertus student interested in signing up for your free Investing in Education subscription, use this link.
