Name: Tim Lan
Year: Sophomore
Major(s): Journalism, Economics
CFS Class: Business Field Studies
Employer: Jansen Investments
Chicago Field Studies has truly been an inspirational experience for me. It has informed my personal growth in all different ways which I would have never experienced by simply taking courses on campus. From a pre-professional perspective, it has provided me with amazing exposure to working closely with accomplished finance professionals and establishing a skillset in financial modeling. What makes it even better is the fact that it’s a learning journey through hands-on engagements where I have been able to make tangible impacts on potential transactions, interact with clients and put finance knowledge into use. As a result, I ended up with so many interesting stories that I can easily leverage and talk about in-depth for future interviews or conversations in a professional setting. All these factors add up to ensure that I have become more confident and capable in any finance-related recruitment events — or even future positions as well.
From a personal perspective, I can’t exaggerate the extent of personal growth simply as a result of being able to work with successful people in the business world on a daily basis. In my CFS experience, my boss is always super open to discussions with me on any subject of my preference, whether it’s regarding my life on campus or my recruitment process for investment banking. With more than 20 years of experience in the business world and an extensive network, he keeps giving me incredibly valuable advice for shaping my own professional image, building up connections, and standing out as an exceptional professional through important details. Essentially, I have found an invaluable mentorship through the CFS program, which I will cherish and build upon for the rest of my lifetime.
Both from a pre-professional angle and from a personal growth perspective, I will highly recommend CFS to any student at Northwestern. It is a program that is not available on other campuses — at least not at the University of Chicago, according to my colleagues — and it’s such a fantastic, worthwhile experience that one should never pass up on.