My liberal arts education at Bethany College helped me discover my passion for financial markets and gave me the background necessary to add value when I entered the industry. The curriculum itself gave me the quantitative, writing, and presentation skills that were necessary to succeed in business school and on Wall Street. The core fundamentals of finance and economics I studied at Bethany in a comfortable, small class size environment are ones I still use to this day when developing market views and trade recommendations.
Furthermore, the one-on-one attention I received from faculty members that became my mentors was invaluable. Their advice and guidance gave me the confidence and strategy to pursue an MBA from a top‐tier business school and ultimately a career in financial services.
Outside of the classroom, the experience that gave me the most unique perspective was the McCann Student Investment Fund, where I was given the chance to work with my peers to invest and manage a sum of money. This activity not only set the foundation for my understanding of how markets work and how to analyze a potential investment, but it also provided me the leadership, teamwork, and communication abilities that are necessary to succeed in any business role. Especially in my field, thoughtfully communicating and defending a thesis is essential, and I was able to work on this very early on due to the fund.
It is because of the classes, the environment, the professors, and other unique opportunities at Bethany that I was able to hit the ground running when I entered the investments field, and I look back on my choice to attend as a key decision in shaping a meaningful and successful career.
Kelly Sofka is an investment consultant at MassMutual Financial Group. Previously, she was an associate equity and derivatives strategist at UBS Investment Bank. She received a BA in economics and mathematics from Bethany College in West Virginia in 2010 and an MBA from the Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business in 2012.