Student Profile: Expanding Horizons

Vandita Khullar Singh '11
Summer Internship: Goldman Sachs

I’ve always had a lot of interests. In college, I was pre-med before getting a degree in economics and international relations. I went to work on Wall Street because I thought the work would be really interesting, that I’d be surrounded by smart people, and that I’d get to learn something new just about every day. I spent three years at J.P. Morgan, and another at a small family-office private equity firm. I enjoyed all of it, but I found myself wanting to take a step back, to evaluate where my career was going, and to expand my horizons.

Yale SOM fit what I was looking for perfectly. It’s really strong in finance, but not dominated by it. I wanted a program where I’d be with people from a large variety of backgrounds. And I liked the idea of a smaller school, where I’d get to know not just my fellow students, but the faculty as well. At a small school, there’s a chance to get involved in all kinds of things. I’m a director of the Finance Club, but also heavily involved in Women-in-Management and the Food and Wine Club. The only thing limiting my activities is time.

The integrated curriculum has also been fantastic. While my background is heavy in finance, I had no formal training in strategy or operations or marketing. The core really forced me out of my comfort zone, which is often where the best learning takes place. As a summer intern at Goldman Sachs, I found that even though I was back on Wall Street, I had a much better understanding of the clients. My questions about their businesses were more informed and specific, especially when it came to their operations. A key aspect of investment banking is the advisory role, and SOM has prepared me for this extremely well.

My class had a great year with internships at Goldman. A lot of this is because of the dedication of Yale alumni working there. Alums came to campus, met with us as a group, and then one-on-one, making sure we had an in-depth understanding of how Goldman works, and that we had opportunities to meet many people throughout the firm. By the time I got to my final interview, I was actually having fun. I couldn’t have been better prepared.

I’ll be returning to Goldman after graduation. My summer there was a real success. I worked on five different deals that were eventually announced. SOM helped me get the internship, but more importantly, gave me the skills I needed to do great work.

Interviewed on December 1, 2010.