During my final semester at NYU, I immersed myself in joy and celebration, savoring the last few weeks of my college journey while diligently preparing for the corporate world. Throughout my tenure at NYU, I leveraged the plethora of job opportunities available in the city, and benefited from NYU's post-graduate career resources, which is dedicated to guiding students through the challenges of securing a job in their desired position and industry. This proactive approach led me to secure an asset management internship at Cohen & Steers within their Institutional Relationship Management department. Following the successful completion of the 12-week internship during the summer of 2022, I was not only granted but also enthusiastically accepted a full-time offer in my senior year, commencing in August 2023. Now, five months into my dream job in Midtown Manhattan, I am profoundly grateful to MVYouth. With MVYouth's invaluable support, I had the privilege to connect with talented and ambitious students and educators in the world's greatest city, enabling me to apply my knowledge to a leading global investment manager specializing in real assets. Today, my focus is on further expanding my expertise in the real assets space while delivering top-tier client service to our institutional clients. I am fueled by excitement and determination to thrive in my professional career, acknowledging that this achievement wouldn't have been possible without the generosity of MVYouth. Thank you & cheers to 2024!
Louise McDonald - New York University
As my graduation date rapidly approaches, I am taking in all that college has to offer while preparing myself to enter the working world and post-graduate lifestyle. This summer, I was granted the opportunity to be the Institutional Relationship Summer Associate for Cohen & Steers. Through my internship, I developed strong client service and communication skills by preparing and attending external portfolio reviews with Cohen & Steers portfolio managers & clients. To help the Northeast Relationship Management team prepare for client & consultant meetings, I assisted with production, review, and delivery of client investment reports focusing on performance and attribution. While assigned tasks by my manager, I worked with a team of five interns to analyze COVID's impact on the firm's risk management, technology, and communication systems and presented our research to the firm's executive committee. By connecting with colleagues in different departments, I learned how to build, grow, and chase new clients, best navigate existing relationships, and listen to unexplored opportunities in the pipeline.
Through this experience, I gained great knowledge of financial markets and Cohen & Steers products when it came to fostering client relationships and finding opportunities to deepen the relationship in meaningful ways. I am happy to announce that after completing my internship, I received a full time offer to return to the firm as a Relationship Management Associate in their Relationship Management Department. This past semester at New York University was the best one yet! After completing my internship, this semester I was able to truly focus on my classes, extracurriculars, and campus life. As always, none of these experiences would be possible without the generosity and continued support of MVYouth. Thanks to MVYouth, I will graduate, work for a support firm in a role I am passionate about, and continue to build and explore all life has in store in the best city in the world. Thank you!
Louise McDonald - New York University
In the fall of my junior year, I started the semester with the return of normalcy: classes were back at full capacity and most classes were held in person. Even though NYU had a strict mask mandate and testing policy due to the ongoing pandemic, as a full-time student, I aim to encounter new challenges, involving myself in activities from club athletics to academic leadership. I actively enjoy volunteering in my outside community through the “Champions are Readers” organization and opportunities through my sorority, Pi Beta Phi Rho, which has allowed me to engage with students and teachers in the local NYC community. Through my activities inside and outside of academics, I strive to be a leader in making a difference in my community while making new friends and lifelong memories.
When I am not in the classroom, the field, or roaming around the city participating in extracurricular activities, I am working. After my summer internship, I was offered a position as the Executive Assistant to The Chairman and CEO of The Luxury Marketing Council. Every day I participate in the organizational and operational management of internal team projects and communicate daily with C-Suite Executives to help build partnerships in leading luxury brands. With this opportunity through NYU, I have acquired skills in virtual platforms including Zoom, Mailchimp, Oomoji, G-Suite, HubSpot, Handshake, Dropbox, Authorize.net, Square, and Youtube. Working while in school has allowed me to develop my goals and refine my skillset alongside supportive mentors and inspiring leaders. This summer, I am looking forward to applying and participating in a collaborative internship environment of like-minded strategic thinkers ready to innovate.
Louise McDonald - Trinity College/NYU
This past semester at Trinity College was extremely challenging to navigate around the COVID-19 pandemic. I decided to attend Trinity College thinking that I would be able to get involved easily in a small school setting and have the opportunity to explore new ideas, much like I did in my small island hometown. Now in my sophomore year, while I have enjoyed my academic courses and professors, such as Psychology with Professor McGrath, I find myself frustrated by the limited range of courses and extracurricular activities that are offered to students. This semster I was incredibly disappointed that Trinity College was unable to grant me a seat in any psychology courses I need to complete in my academic career. The Coronavirus pandemic has allowed me to explore diverse academic opportunities. This semester I applied and have been accepted as a transfer student to New York University. As a transfer student to New York University, I am eager to explore all that a large school offers in a world-class city. I want to study new ideas in the field of psychology with other students from around the globe. Under the Department of Psychology, I will be able to enjoy a vast selection of academic courses spanning from topics on the science of behavior to the subject areas of psychopathology, and neuroscience. At the College of Arts and Sciences, I will benefit from the opportunity to develop a close personal and professional relationship with faculty working as a research mentor. Learning under the world's best professors, I will acquire a superior education through faculty-sponsored research projects that will help me develop specialized research skills. With various opportunities to study alongside professors actively engaged in psychology research, I will learn psychology theory and contemporary research in the field. From the opportunity with MVYouth, I look forward to developing my academic and research interests at NYU's College of Arts and Sciences. As an aspiring psychology major, I cannot imagine a campus that will better encourage and cultivate my future academic and professional goals. I am forever grateful for the support and generosity from MVYouth and cannot wait to explore this new and exciting chapter in my life!
Louise McDonald - Trinity College
During this past semester at Trinity College, I spent my time observing and exploring fascinating academic courses and new social dynamics. At first, I was overwhelmed with all the possible opportunities that Trinity had to offer. However, within a few short days, I began to dip my toes in recreational activities such as cycling and Zumba, volunteering as a Trinity student writer for Society 6 magazine, and taking the college bus to the renown Wadsworth Atheneum of Art in Hartford. Despite being comfortable in my little bubble on Martha's Vineyard, I have a new perspective on life in a big city. Throughout my senior year, I had never pictured myself going to a small 2,282 person liberal arts student school. However, once I touched foot as a freshmen student on campus, I couldn't be happier about my college decision. Being in a small environment where people root for each other, want each other to succeed, and care about each other is truly special. The liberal arts program has allowed me to dip my toes in all subjects. Even though I came into college interested in a specific major, I quickly developed interests in other subjects. This semester I had the opportunity to learn enticing information in Art History on The Pietà St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City and the Staford Prison Experiment in my Games of Strategy Seminar. The various amount of small size classes in all subjects at Trinity encourages me to collaborate with my classmates while discovering what I want to concentrate on for the next four years. Within a few days at Trinity, I was able to step out of my comfort zone and build strong connections with my classmates, professors, and college community. With the help from MVYouth, I am able to find academically-minded people who will push me to work hard, and also motivate me to be the best version of myself. Without this experience, I would not have been able to build this amazing network that I can reach out to in the future. Now nothing is stopping me from being successful.