Student Profile: Problem Solving

Corey Harrison '11
Co-leader, Finance Club
Internship: Goldman Sachs

I’m a career changer. Before SOM, I worked in IT and operations, but I wanted to move into finance. Going to business school seemed a good way to make the transition, and I was attracted to SOM because of the integration between business and society. I chose SOM from a finance perspective because of the leader I want to become. SOM has really amazing finance faculty, such as Frank Fabozzi and Bob Shiller. But this wasn’t just about skills. It was a choice with a view toward the long term. I didn't pick the shoes I’ll wear today; I picked the shoes for tomorrow, maybe ten or fifteen years down the road. The leader I want to be will need an intimate knowledge of matters as they pertain to business and society and their interaction.

I’m a member of the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Management, which is a fellowship for traditionally under-represented minorities. We started the year off last spring with an orientation, where we met with tons of companies and had the chance to network. Even before that, the Career Development Office started prepping me, working on my résumé, helping me work on my pitch. Over the summer I was meeting with alumni, again with the help of the CDO. They helped me get in touch with alumni at virtually every major investment bank on Wall Street. I owe them a lot.

Once at school, I got involved with the Finance Club. Every single week, the club met, and the second-year students led us through something else we needed to know to get a good internship. We did tons of mock interviews, worked on our stories, and honed our résumés. By the time the real interviews were here, we were all super ready. And it worked. In December, I had three offers in hand.

People talk a lot about the community here. Early in the year we’re all assigned to study groups of seven or either. We worked together on accounting assignments and other early courses. But it quickly became more than just a study group. Even though we’re all different and headed into different industries, we’ve become a true support group. If someone has a problem, we’re here to help. And when something good happens, we’re the first to congratulate them. When I got into Goldman Sachs, they were there right away. We’re really a small family. And it’s not just our small group. It describes the entire SOM community. It’s really something special.

SOM’s curriculum has prepared me on another level. Today’s problems require solutions that address all stakeholders. This is a cornerstone of the curriculum. We spent much of our first year acquiring the skills we need to be successful. At the end of the year, especially through the Integrated Leadership Perspective, we’ve taken those concepts and skills and brought them to bear on really complex problems. I can see how my own perspective has been broadened to take in the larger society. This is the SOM mission. I came to SOM to become a real leader. The curriculum — and the school as a whole — is designed to do precisely that.

Interviewed on April 13, 2010.