Student Profile: New Passions

Jamie Brooke Forseth '12
Pre-SOM: Personal Chief of Staff to the U.S. Ambassador to Finland
Post-MBA position: Goldman Sachs

One of the great things about Yale SOM is that you never know what is going to catch your attention and become something that you are passionate about. One day a Yale College alum from Goldman Sachs was coming to speak, and I happened to have that lunch hour free. I went to the presentation, got to join a small student lunch with him afterwards, and became really excited about the world of finance.

I asked if I could visit Goldman, just to see what a trading floor looked like. When I visited, it turned out that I was not only observing the trading floor, but also being interviewed. I was struck by the energy on the floor and the dynamic people who were making markets all day. So I shifted from marketing recruiting to finance recruiting, and I ultimately went and spent my summer at Goldman.

When I talk to prospective students, I always say that the most exciting part of the core curriculum is that it is a complete immersion, and you are learning more than you even realize at the time. Essentially you are training yourself to think in a new way. When I arrived at Goldman, I was consistently surprised by how much I had absorbed in core classes. The other immensely helpful aspect is the collaborative nature of Yale SOM. It teaches you to always engage with everyone, to be thoughtful about interpersonal dynamics between people.

This is a small community, but that does not mean that you make fewer connections. Everyone is so warm and willing to do everything above and beyond to help colleagues. We're establishing strong relationships for the future.

Every morning when I step on campus, I love the energy of people learning and truly enjoying it. Everyone is excited to be tackling new subject matter. People will overhear a conversation and they feel at ease to jump in and say, "Oh, we were discussing that same issue in a different class." And this very vibrant conversation starts, with each person providing different perspectives and insights.

Interviewed on March 28, 2012.