When three School of Information Studies (iSchool) undergraduate students joined their classmates for the iSchool’s fall Road Trip to New York City in October, they expected to learn firsthand about the role of information technology across a broad range of businesses through stops at finance and consulting companies across Manhattan. But what they didn’t realize at the time was that some of the connections they made on the trip would lead to internship opportunities for this coming summer.
Thanks in part to their networking efforts during the Road Trip’s stop at Fidelity Investments, sophomores Oluwaseun Aboderin and Kristy Malley, and junior Chris Whelan will be working at as technical interns at the firm. Aboderin and Malley will be working in Boston, and Whelan will be located in Merrimack, New Hampshire.
Finance, Data, and Technology
For Aboderin, the Fidelity stop made an impression because of his passion for the markets, and his minor in finance and economics.
“Walking around the trading floor and seeing the action first-hand was awesome,” Aboderin recalls. “I felt that I really connected with the recruiter and we stayed in contact and fortunately I landed the offer. Ultimately the decision came down to what company would allow me to leverage both my technology skills and my financial knowledge and Fidelity was the right fit for me.”
Aboderin, who transferred to the iSchool after a year majoring in accounting and finance at Tarleton State University in Texas, came to Syracuse after participating in the iSchool’s Applied Data Science MOOC.
“I took the MOOC to enhance my skills and gain more knowledge about data science,” said Aboderin. “It’s an emerging field and has definitely grabbed my interest. In my free time, I’m trying things out, building different data visualization models in R, really just trying to teach myself something new because there’s always room to improve and learn.”
In addition to his studies, Aboderin is a research analyst for a student investment club, a member of the external affairs committee in the Syracuse student chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants, as well as a member of the African Student Union.
Building on Previous Experience
Sophomore Kristy Malley, hopes that this summer’s internship at Fidelity will help her build on skills she picked up at a position last summer, working in big data and data analytics with Voya Financial in Windsor, Connecticut.
Malley is minoring in finance, and is looking to build a career working on the business side of technology, specifically in IT consulting or project management. Her Fidelity internship will focus on project management and system analysis.
At the iSchool, Malley has taken on the role of president of the Women in Technology Club.
“We help out with events that relate specifically to women in tech,” explained Malley, “such as teaching workshops for the Girl Scouts during our Girls are IT event, as well as helping with the IT Girls retreat in the fall.”
Campus Connection, Road Trip Opportunity
Junior Chris Whelan first met with a Fidelity recruiter during the company’s campus visit ahead of the October Road Trip.
“My interest in an internship with Fidelity initially began after they visited one of my classes, and then I met with a recruiter at the fall Career Fair, and again four days later on the Road Trip,” explained Whelan. “I really enjoyed the fact that Fidelity focuses on the latest and most current technology and that they are a global company.
For Whelan, who completed his first two years of higher education at Onondaga Community College, the Road Trip was helpful in acclimating him to Syracuse.
“As a transfer student I didn’t know too many of my classmates, so the trip allowed me to meet them,” Whelan said. “During the trip I also had the chance to network and speak with alumni to learn how the iSchool prepared them for their positions. Hearing about their experiences and opportunities reassured me that I made the right decision in coming here, and showed me how prepared I’ll be when I graduate.”
Whelan sees the Fidelity internship as an important next step in his journey of learning. He hopes it will allow him to build on several years of skills he picked up as an intern in the IT support department of a local insurance company.
“The technology internship I have at Fidelity will provide the opportunity to work on projects in support of business applications in asset management, where I want to continue to develop my technology skills,” said Whelan. “It is my hope that the internship will provide me with data operations project experience, allowing me to be part of something on a global scale, and preparing me further for a technology career when I graduate next year.”