It was only a few short months ago when six Sawyer Business School students decided that they wanted to help their classmates get together every week and hear from professionals in the financial industry first hand. As a result, the students started the Suffolk University Finance Club.
The Rams behind the project are sophomores Liam O’Toole, Elie Vaturi, Ian Melkonian, Mason Lafferty, junior Eric Kostandin and senior Sydney Watson.
“The Finance Club is a student-led organization on campus which aims to act as the central nexus between students and financial institutions,” said Watson, executive director and co-founder of the club.
Watson said that even though this organization is brand new, she is confident it will stand out among the hundreds of others that Suffolk has to offer.
“We are different from other clubs on campus because we are offering an interactive learning experience through various means, such as a portfolio management game and real world practice in skills like networking,” said Watson, a finance and global business double major.
Watson believes that as the only female on the club’s executive board she brings a different perspective to the group.
“Being the only woman on the board actually gives me a sense of empowerment, and I have developed a great relationship with each of the guys,” said Watson. “We all have unique skills and abilities which I believe we integrate well together in pursuit of our various goals for the club and our members.”
The club’s leaders are confident the speakers they bring in will benefit from the students as well. According to Kostandin, president and co-founder of the Finance Club, the club was inspired to bring in financial institutions by other clubs on campus who were bringing speakers from the industries they wanted to pursue
Kostandin and the team have done a lot of networking in the past and are looking forward to passing these connections onto other Suffolk students. Firms, including State Street, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan and more, are set to speak at the club’s meetings.
“We want to help the members of the club find their passion in finance or in any sector of the business world,” said Liam O’Toole, vice president and co-founder of the club.
But Kostandin says that the dedicated individuals on the e-board were responsible for bringing this club to life. Though the board has been working to prepare the club for it’s Suffolk debut, they are confident it will be worth it.
“In the end, all the hard work will pay off because we’re going to be helping so many people at the school,” said Kostandin.
