The College’s networking event enabled students to get a deeper insight into Finance
On Thursday 6 May, Lucy students interested in the Finance sector were given the chance to network with alumnae and friends who have experience in the field. The aim was to give students the chance to connect with like-minded individuals, and to give them a deeper insight into the world of Finance.
Organised by Lucy’s Development Team, the event also presented a great opportunity for Lucy’s global community to come together during a pandemic.
Lucy’s Development Director Jo Ryan, introduced the event’s host Boin Cheong (Law, 2009), an associate in the Finance Department at Latham & Watkins.
Boin gave attendees a brief overview as to what exciting segments the event had in store, before introducing the panellists:
Ariel Gao (Economics Tripos, 2014) - Leveraged Finance Associate at RBS.
Zhu Gong (Mathematics, 2009) - Head of European ABS at Bayview Asset Management. She previously worked at Goldman Sachs.
Nooman Haque - Head of Life Sciences and Healthcare at Silicon Valley Bank for EMEA and Fellow of Lucy Cavendish acted as Chair.
The theme of the discussion was ‘Access into Finance Careers’. Topics included the motivation behind choosing a career in Finance, the importance of networking, levelling post-COVID, working from home, and office culture (including discussions on long work hours and gender-based differences).
Each panellist bought their own experiences to the event, giving attendees a beneficial – and realistic – insight into Finance careers and the expectations one should have when entering this sector.
To give attendees the chance to network and to discuss the themes, they were split into Zoom breakout rooms, with each group containing a good mix of students and alumnae/friends in Finance careers. The panel also joined attendees within these groups.
When the attendees returned, each group shared their observations and it was apparent that everyone related to the topics and experiences discussed by Boin, Ariel, Zhu and Nooman.
At the conclusion of the event, Boin and Jo thanked everyone for their participation and encouraged them to continue the discussion and networking outside of Zoom. As such, an email was sent out to all attendees with the opportunity to do this and we received a positive response. Panellist Ariel Gao commented:
“[The event] was a fantastic experience. I also learned a lot and made numerous new connections on LinkedIn with many of the attendees’ right after the session! Really nice to feel part of the Lucy community in this manner.”
The Development Team hopes this networking will continue, and that the discussions and connections made at the event will prove beneficial for all attendees in the future. Jo Ryan commented: “We were delighted to bring the Lucy community together for our first City and Finance Networking Reception. It was thought-provoking and inspirational and it was wonderful to see many great connections made.”
To find a list of all upcoming events, visit the Lucy Cavendish College events pages.