Name: Anthony Koval
CFS Concentration/Year: Business Field Studies 2008
Internship: Smith Barney
Major /Minor: B.A., Economics/Business Institutions
Graduation Year: 2010
Current Position: Advisor, CVS Caremark

Describe your CFS internship and how it helped you either in interviews, job opportunities or graduate school applications?
I interned at Smith Barney, working on a Private Wealth Management team. Some of the projects I worked on included researching and analyzing various stocks and intuitional money managers, preparing client portfolio reviews, and analyzing client portfolios to make recommendations to improve client portfolio performance. The internship was a great hands-on experience, and I was able to leverage both the experience and the analytical skills learned to land and succeed at a job post-graduation.

Did you see it as a future career when you took the internship? 
I honestly did not know what to expect when I took the internship. I knew I was interested in working within Finance, but I wanted some actual experience to determine exactly which aspect of the finance worlds would be something I would most enjoy doing, if any at all. This internship helped me discover that I really enjoy the analytics within Finance.

 Please briefly explain what you are doing now?
I work at the Analytic Consulting Services department with the CVS Caremark Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) division. Here, I develop SAS and Excel based financial models that forecast opportunity savings for clients looking to implement programs and initiatives that ensure employees and their families are staying healthy by promoting more affordable medications and improving adherence to therapy.

Is there a link between your CFS experience and what you are doing now?
Yes, while my current job working at a Pharmacy Benefit Manager differs far from my Private Wealth Management internship, the internship definitely helped me apply and develop analytical skills and tools that I continue to use on a daily basis. My CFS experience also helped me determine what kind of work environment and culture I would thrive working in, and I was able to find that environment at my current role.

What advice do you have for students at NU considering the program?
Do it! CFS is an amazing program, and the overall experience goes way beyond a typical internship. You meet with and interact with students going through the same experience, but at different organizations and work environments. So even though you will have your own experience at only one organization, you will walk away with background and knowledge from fifteen other organizations. Plus, the CFS staff is extremely helpful. They want you to succeed, not only at your internship and the related classes, but also in your future career.

How can CFS students make the most of their experience? 
Ask questions! Definitely take advantage of this time to ask questions to supervisors and coworkers at your organization, as well as your professors, and even your classmates. This is a unique opportunity to work with and get information from so many different people from so many different places at once, so make sure you don’t waste this opportunity. In addition, always keep up with the class work!