Ahman Henoc

The Wharton Investment Competition has students work in teams of four to seven, and have access to an online stock market simulator, learning about strategy-building, teamwork, communication, risk management, diversification, company and industry analysis, and many other aspects of investing through the careful examination of a case study. We participated in the competition against 5000 initial teams where 1800 submitted final reports, it is a global competition with students from 62 different countries. Our team worked hard and grinded through a 7 month process and achieved amazing results that concluded with us flying to Warton, participating in a 2 day competition and finishing second place out of the 1800 teams. This experience has only helped to further fuel my passion for the stock market and investing, and it has only cemented my choice of this path for my future career, in Finance.

The internship was a step into the real world. I was given a thorough orientation, I shadowed different departments, I was given tasks to complete and I participated in trades via a simulator. I was taught different methods of trading, certain calculations (butterfly spread), how stocks work, and had to apply these techniques on my trades via a simulation program. I interned from 9am-4pm each day for a week, to get an introduction into work life and the expectations that come with it including taking the train to work downtown, meetings, lunch breaks and other aspects of the working experience. It was a great experience of a real work environment and what I would like to do in life.

Think & Make is a program/competition that allows students to come up with an innovative strategy to help solve a problem and understand how to start and build a new initiative while working in a team environment. In this challenge, my group and I place second with our start-up organization that focused on addressing homelessness, by providing employment training and job placement with the goal of providing a stable income to help them find their path and give them a chance at starting a new life. However, the project made transition housing and affordable housing the focus because their immediate needs had to be addressed with temporary shelter and once the are placed in a job, they can move into affordable housing.

The exchange was an educational/cultural exchange that I greatly loved and allowed a progression in my Spanish as it was an immersion program. It was a way to experience a new culture and visit a new country while going a Spanish Catholic School part time. My host Family was very kind, the ambiance of Spain was very welcoming and it was an enjoyable trip. The host family did not speak English so I was able to improve my Spanish. In addition, we toured significant historical landmarks and cultural locations to better understand how life is in Spain. Truly, a great experience.