Interview with Melissa Carleton, Class of 2022, State Street Intern
This week, we had the opportunity to speak with Melissa Carleton, Class of 2022, about her experience at State Street.
Hi Melissa, thanks for speaking with the Investment Society. Could you please introduce yourself?
Melissa: I am Melissa Carleton, and I am an incoming junior studying Economics and Math. I'm currently planning on pursuing graduate studies in Economics. I interned at State Street over this past summer to get a little bit more of a perspective on how macroeconomics works in the business world and also the finance world. Through these next few years, I plan on mostly pursuing research positions, so that's just a little bit about me, what I'm studying, and my background.
How did you find out about State Street and what made you choose that role?
Melissa: Yeah, it's interesting because I actually found out about State Street through an internet search. State Street is a custodial bank, and it's over 200 years old. It's pretty well established. It's not as risky. I don’t think it takes as many risks in its portfolios as JP Morgan and Chase, for instance. Because of that, it does have that reputation of being a very sound and stable bank, but it still makes use of innovative technologies.
Also, I got the impression that State Street has an inclusive culture. State Street supports efforts such as racial justice and women's rights and the statue of the fearless girl (a statue outside of the New York Stock Exchange commissioned by State Street to highlight the power of women in leadership) symbolizes this initiative. I admired how State Street is reputable and established but also keeps up with current market conditions.
What skills did you develop from this internship and what did you take away?
Melissa: That's really interesting because the internship actually started off a little bit rocky. I was supposed to be in securities lending, and there was a conflict with my manager’s schedule due to the remote situation. So, then what happened was they were trying to find a new placement for me, and I was left waiting for at least four weeks before they did. I almost didn't even have an internship at that time. Then, someone on global markets got me involved with some projects and those projects were great for small experiences to work with some of the other interns, but it still wasn't related to finance really or any kind of quantitative skills, which is what I hoped to take away from my internship.
I then talked to my intern coordinator about my concern, who connected me with State Street Associates, and there, I was placed on the Bridge Research Team. For the study that I did, I used MATLAB to analyze some data and run some regressions. This study involved replicating recent work on predicting and forecasting real exchange rates based on CPI (Consumer Price Index) data and IMF-IFS exchange rate data that are important for investors, particularly in foreign exchange markets. Aside from that, I was still on the global markets overhead team, so I did get to view some presentations on what other interns were working on. I learned about State Street products and strategies and how State Street differentiates itself by pitching its products on the “okay, this product is on the safer side but still an innovative solution”. In this sense, I learned a lot about how these financial products are pitched to investors and clients.
I guess the most important skill, other than various technical skills I learned, was that it's really important to speak up for opportunities that expose you to areas that you want to learn more about. In this process, it’s also important to emphasize the skills you already possess to convince the company that you’re ready for more responsibility and that training you to acquire these skills will not cost more time or resources, on their part. I think, especially too during COVID, it's easy to think, oh, they're probably so busy trying to coordinate everything and I don't want to bother them, but it's still a good time to speak up. If you get in there and still learn what you set out to learn while contributing the skills that you have, then you're actually adding more value to the organization. For example, taking the initiative to organize my small research experience collecting and analyzing data ended up cutting time costs for the State Street Associates team. Since I already had research and data analysis skills, the training costs were low, so they were willing to take me on. Finally, you also better equip yourself to become the type of employee that can perform well and discover the harder-to-find opportunities for professional and personal growth in today’s uncertain environment. At the end of my internship, my manager said that she admired my skills in speaking up and not settling based on the outlook of the current situation.
What advice do you have for someone going into their first remote experience?
Melissa: I would really emphasize the importance of speaking up and going in with a very clear sense of what you want to learn. The State Street internship program was a little bit more structured for other interns, and I just got unlucky at the beginning. I think a lot of other banks or financial institutions might be in similar situations where there are new, unprecedented challenges and they may have to restructure their programs quite a bit. This means that sometimes your tasks will not be as clear and sometimes you might have, as an intern, far less responsibility or exposure to opportunities than before. You can take advantage of any extra time to network with people. People in the company will typically be very friendly and willing to talk to you if you demonstrate that you're enthusiastic about what they do. For example, if there's a project or an area for the institution to potentially improve their procedure or processes, just go ahead and suggest it or even create your own initiative for how to do that, which could take the form of a presentation with your ideas. If you are stuck waiting, don't wait for other people to give you tasks to do. Of course, do the tasks that you are assigned and do them well, but when there is less structure, there's far more room for taking your own initiative.
Where would you see yourself next summer?
Melissa: Next summer I am primarily going to focus on research. My experience in the private sector has definitely given me valuable insights, and I feel that I would not fully understand the world in general if I did not have that experience. It also gives me a lot more confidence in what I want to pursue. Especially if I'm doing research in economics, I want to know how the financial institutions work, what their internal operations are like, and how this contrasts with a research-based career. But if I do go into the industry again, perhaps in the summer when I'm in grad school or some other time, I will probably look toward a firm that is a tiny bit “riskier” than how I described State Street, meaning that’s the first to invest in all of the new technologies and the first to get on the market trends and be on the edge of everything.
Going into some of your coursework, you have taken quite a few Chinese related classes. How does your study of the language and culture relate to the work you're interested in pursuing?
Melissa: It's interesting, because it actually doesn't have a super clear relation in the sense that I started Chinese in high school because I loved the language and culture. I got my black belt in Wushu Kung Fu when I was a young teenager, and I think that experience was kind of what sparked my interest in Chinese language and culture. At that time, I did not have any sort of intention of using that skill to pursue success in the business world or anything like that, but I do think that it's a skill that's becoming more valuable as China's economy continues to grow. I could also envision myself studying China’s economic growth more in-depth by analyzing macro or firm-level data and reading articles only accessible to Chinese speakers. Business-wise, you can build stronger relationships when you know a language, and you can speak with others in that language instead of expecting them to speak English automatically. More valuable to me is the personal experience of being able to connect with others in the language, and I've made wonderful friendships and connections with people in the process. That's what's more important to me than acquiring language skills for a work setting, but I definitely think that language skills will become more and more important, especially as I see banks such as State Street becoming more globally connected.
For students who haven’t decided on a major, what advice do you have for choosing a major or taking a class outside your major?
Melissa: Contrary to the typical advice of having breadth in your course selections each semester, I think it's good to take classes outside your majors over summer or winter break. If you're double-majoring, like I am in Economics and Math, really focus on those subjects during the semester. I find that I benefit most from taking at least two economics courses or two math courses a semester so that I can have that pure focus. That’s a different perspective than what I think it tends to be at Wellesley, but I found that it has helped me gain a far greater depth of knowledge in my fields of interest. I took the summer to study 400-level Chinese in Kunming, China (which is not typically offered at American universities), and I believe that I became fluent in Chinese that summer because I was focusing on the language in an immersive setting. This experience helped me put the language skills I gained from my studies in high school and at Wellesley into constant practice, which was what enabled me to pick it up on a deeper level. Chinese is not within my major, but it’s a strong passion I have and it’s another subject that I really love. In terms of choosing your major, I would say think about which classes you look forward to the most. Don't just think about, “Will this make money?” or “Will I get a high salary?”. Compare different majors based on how well they provide the skills that overlap with your interests. Talk to professors and carefully read department webpages to get a sense of what these skills are and the potential opportunities for graduates in those fields. Another helpful tip is to reach out to recent grads on LinkedIn (even from other universities) or the Wellesley Hive who have jobs that you’re interested in and ask them about how their path of study led to their career. I’ve read that if you have valuable and unique skills to offer your employer, your community, others’ lives, or even society as a whole, others will be more enthusiastic to help you reach your goals. I’ve found this to already be true in small ways throughout my journey as a student. I believe that any skills you develop will stand out more if you genuinely love the subject, can tell a compelling story around it and are enthusiastic to contribute your knowledge.
Given you have experience in the financial services industry and research, what pushed you towards more research focused path?
Melissa: I believe it depends a lot on work, personality, and thinking style. This is not something that I was ever told by anyone else. I think the reason why my thinking style fits research better than the day-to-day work of a job in a financial institution is that companies or institutions typically emphasize skills such as multitasking, knowing how to delegate work, and knowing how to plan your schedule minute-by-minute. The style of thinking in research is centered more around long-term implications and explaining observed patterns. That being said, there are academic-oriented research positions within financial institutions and other companies, and that is still something I'm trying to get a better sense of. I could end up pursuing one of those positions, but in terms of my own personality and my likes and dislikes, I prefer a job where I'm not expected to be on text every hour, but some people prefer that connectivity and pace of work. I’d rather sit for hours at a time, perhaps focusing on one deep theoretical problem. I think it is about whether you prefer to work where you are expected to think quickly and complete tasks very fast, versus that deeper, more immersive thinking.
What is a fun fact about you?
Melissa: My fun fact is that I received my black belt in Wushu Kung Fu when I was 12. I trained under Richard Branden, who was a six-time world champion. He competed globally and trained with masters in China.
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed in this interview are entirely Melissa’s and do not necessarily express the positions of State Street, as a company.
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