ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - Front row seats to the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange, witnessing an Initial Public Offering (IPO) at NASDAQ, conversations with Wall Street employees who are also Winthrop University alumni-all
in a week's work for students in Winthrop's Financial Markets Seminar course.
Assistant Professor of Finance Philip Gibson, Associate Professor of Accounting Antonia Berbrick and Professor of Accounting Charles
Alvis led nine business administration students on a whirlwind trip of New York City
last month for the class. Through lectures, panel discussions and a week-long seminar
series in the Big Apple, students received a firsthand glimpse of the business world
and the inner workings of the country's capital markets. They also visited companies
like Russell Investments and BlackRock.
Graduate student Kenneth Blackwell, of Rock Hill, said he couldn't pass up this trip, especially with this interest
in financial markets.
"Whether an organization is targeting expansion or capital restructuring, our capital
markets and New York's Wall Street are the backbone of financial availability," he
said. "This trip exposed us to the epicenter of all this."
While a highlight of the trip for him was the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ
visits, Blackwell also enjoyed meeting with fellow alumni working on Wall Street,
visits that he called "exciting and encouraging."
"I believe the best real-world application is recognizing the interconnectedness of
small items to big pictures," he said. "Even though the sheer scale of everything
you witness on that trip and on Wall Street in general are seemingly huge, unchangeable
measures, they're all driven by the day-to-day transactions of the business."
Hannah Rivera of Pelzer said the class gave her valuable hands-on experience that will help her
in the future, including ways to stand out to employers.
"The main two tips that were very important are to keep trying and to stay positive
with a strong will to work," she said. "I will implement these in my daily life and
hopefully it will allow me to move forward in my career choice."
For more information, contact Nicole Chisari, communications coordinator, at 803/323-2236 or chisarin@winthrop.edu.
