Since I already have a degree (BA in History, minor in Statistics) and some professional experience (three years of teaching Latin), my objectives tend to be very specific and I am learning from my shortcomings and triumphs from my pre-New York life. My primary assumption in all of these goals is that I will maintain my current GPA until I complete my BBA in May 2014.
My most immediate goal is to improve my networking skills. This will help me not only achieve the next two objectives, but it will allow me to progress in my own career and build contacts throughout the Finance and IB industry. I have a difficult time starting conversations in professional environments but I tend to do well once I get going and people seem interested when I throw out a European backpacking reference or demonstrate my knowledge of the current financial markets. To improve this stumbling block, I am enrolling in as many Career Center events as possible and attending a variety of Corporate Presentations, where I am forced to network and talk with career professionals. Further, when I attend Arsenal gatherings at a local pub, I talk to folks around me as the atmosphere is typically very friendly and there is an automatic (and, frankly, awesome) common trait. I am following up by searching on LinkedIn for people with whom I talk to and try to take the conversation further. My next step will be to conduct informational interviews as I go through the next two phases below.
My next objective is to attain a Summer Financial Analyst internship. As stated above, my greatest weakness is in networking. Further, my current retail job may be hindering the perception that I am prepared for such professional responsibility. I am working on finding a quality internship for the Spring semester to counter this. I have the GPA (3.65) and the aptitude (95th percentile on Bloomberg Assessment Test) to succeed and my course choices for next semester will demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of Finance and technical skills. I keep a list of companies to investigate on my phone and add to it as necessary. Over the next three months, I plan to apply for 25-30 summer internships at major banks, hedge funds, investment houses, and ratings agencies.
The ultimate goal is to earn a full-time analyst position at a major investment bank. Obviously, the glaring weakness is that I lack formal employment in the industry, which should clear up during my internship(s). During my internships, I will take advantage of opportunities to learn more about the institution where I intern and industry as a whole, continue to develop my networking skills in a professional environment, and further my technical and fundamental skills. I plan to apply my teaching and backpacking experiences to make myself a creative and indispensable asset to the firm and earn consideration as a future leader. I'll utilize my internship list as a starting point for a job search while continuing to attend Career Center workshops, on-campus presentations, and invitation only events at companies. While I hope to earn an offer from my internship experience, I will certainly explore any and all relevant options. It's a bit early to quantify the application goal, especially if I accept an offer from my internship, my it would likely be about double the internship application number.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Hurricane Charley (2004)
I decided to focus on a crisis that I experienced personally. In August 2004, Hurricane Charley exploded from a mild Category 2 storm into a borderline Category 4/5 storm. Originally forecast to strike the Tampa Bay area, it shifted east and instead hit southwest Florida before quickly moving through the peninsula. In my location (north Orlando), there were winds of approximately 105 mph with higher gusts as the strongest part of the eyewall passed. For brevity, I am focusing on the issue of power restoration, which for me took 4 days. More information is available on the Orlando Sentinel page dedicated to the hurricane.
This article describes the actions and anticipation before the hurricane, alongside statements from local officials, and here is a description of the power situation 72 hours after it. Before Charley's arrival, there were continued warnings that Orlando would get significant effects and residents should be ready if there is a change in the forecast. Once the late shift occurred, officials and power companies warned that there would be no emergency services during its peak and that electricity service might be unavailable for the several days despite tree cleanup and system restoration beginning as soon as it was safe to do so. Government and law enforcement officials also sent stern warnings before the storm about looting and civil disobedience. As cleanup began, there were frequent updates in the media and power crews and tree-cutters were seen throughout the region. However, frustrations began to erupt into violent (and sometimes drunken) outbursts due to long lines for food and gas as well as certain areas receiving electricity first while others did not. Law enforcement was present in many areas with electricity and helped people resolve disputes and maintain order. For instance, I was in a Taco Bell with my then-girlfriend, where we waited for 45 minutes before ordering. There was one drunk person who tried to cut the line but the manager and several others, including a sheriff's officer, removed him by force before there was a further disruption.
I would suggest that the power and government officials did a very good job preparing for various scenarios and quickly adjusted their plan as the storm shifted track. They informed the public about proper preparations and behavior, then enforced their words with actions. On the morning after the storm, I awoke to the sound of saws as tree removal began only hours after Charley passed. In this scenario, power restoration made the correct decision to focus on restoring power to hospitals, emergency services and certain business areas while residents typically waited 48-72 hours.
The lessons learned from previous storms, especially Hurricane Andrew in 1992, showed as emergency planners created contingency plans and maintained a nimble recovery force that could shift to areas quickly, assuming it was safe. Skeptics to the recovery plan suggested that election year politics (especially in a swing state) influenced the process, especially in light of Hurricane Katrina the next summer. However, I don't see any significant evidence to suggest that. The warnings about behavior issued before Charley's arrival were mostly heeded, and law enforcement officials quickly responded to issues and positioned themselves in areas to keep order.
Overall, the response to electrical needs from Hurricane Charley's was impressive despite the fact that it took several days to restore power in many areas. The crisis led to an opportunity to invest in upgraded power infrastructure and the other lessons were more immediately reinforced as two more hurricanes affected the area within 4 weeks and the six storms struck Florida during the 2005 season.
Sources Used:
This article describes the actions and anticipation before the hurricane, alongside statements from local officials, and here is a description of the power situation 72 hours after it. Before Charley's arrival, there were continued warnings that Orlando would get significant effects and residents should be ready if there is a change in the forecast. Once the late shift occurred, officials and power companies warned that there would be no emergency services during its peak and that electricity service might be unavailable for the several days despite tree cleanup and system restoration beginning as soon as it was safe to do so. Government and law enforcement officials also sent stern warnings before the storm about looting and civil disobedience. As cleanup began, there were frequent updates in the media and power crews and tree-cutters were seen throughout the region. However, frustrations began to erupt into violent (and sometimes drunken) outbursts due to long lines for food and gas as well as certain areas receiving electricity first while others did not. Law enforcement was present in many areas with electricity and helped people resolve disputes and maintain order. For instance, I was in a Taco Bell with my then-girlfriend, where we waited for 45 minutes before ordering. There was one drunk person who tried to cut the line but the manager and several others, including a sheriff's officer, removed him by force before there was a further disruption.
I would suggest that the power and government officials did a very good job preparing for various scenarios and quickly adjusted their plan as the storm shifted track. They informed the public about proper preparations and behavior, then enforced their words with actions. On the morning after the storm, I awoke to the sound of saws as tree removal began only hours after Charley passed. In this scenario, power restoration made the correct decision to focus on restoring power to hospitals, emergency services and certain business areas while residents typically waited 48-72 hours.
The lessons learned from previous storms, especially Hurricane Andrew in 1992, showed as emergency planners created contingency plans and maintained a nimble recovery force that could shift to areas quickly, assuming it was safe. Skeptics to the recovery plan suggested that election year politics (especially in a swing state) influenced the process, especially in light of Hurricane Katrina the next summer. However, I don't see any significant evidence to suggest that. The warnings about behavior issued before Charley's arrival were mostly heeded, and law enforcement officials quickly responded to issues and positioned themselves in areas to keep order.
Overall, the response to electrical needs from Hurricane Charley's was impressive despite the fact that it took several days to restore power in many areas. The crisis led to an opportunity to invest in upgraded power infrastructure and the other lessons were more immediately reinforced as two more hurricanes affected the area within 4 weeks and the six storms struck Florida during the 2005 season.
Sources Used:
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