Fellow Princetern John, Dr. Jerry Hanweck, and Eric
Monday morning at 7:30 am, I met the other Princetern in the lobby of Twenty Exchange Place, where I stayed for all three nights of the Princeternship. We grabbed a quick breakfast and arrived at the office at 8 am. I was very impressed by the accommodations at the office: I was given a desk and two monitors, and could see the One World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty from my seat on the 42nd floor. The employees were happy to meet us, and introduced us to the business of the firm and gave us projects to work on. The idea behind our project was intriguing. Around noon, our alum, Jerry Hanweck was nice enough to spend an hour of his time describing his firm, its services, and how it fits in with the rest of Wall Street. This conversation was extremely helpful in allowing us to put into perspective the projects we were working on within the greater world of finance.
On the second day, I arrived at 8:30 am. Everyone else in the office seemed very busy so we observed for most of the day. However, there was enough chatter in the office that I could learn through osmosis. I was able to observe how the office carried out its tasks, how its people collaborated, and how Mr. Hanweck managed his people.
The third day was similar to the first two, except at the end of the day, Mr. Hanweck invited us to his office, and spent an hour talking to us about how he came to starting this business, the firm’s current situation, and its future prospects. I felt that this was a nice conclusion to the Princeternship.
One of the most valuable parts of the Princeternship was being able to experience daily life on Wall Street. Having stayed overnight with friends who were bankers, I partook in their day-to-day activities and got a better sense of what my own life would be like if I were to choose this career path. I think being able to experience the life of a banker outside of the workplace was just as valuable as office work, since office work and culture varies from firm to firm. If it weren’t for the Princeternship program and Mr. Hanweck, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to experience either. Thank you!
