This past April, students and professionals gathered at Princeton, New Jersey for the Princeton Fintech and Quant Conference. Among these attendees was Donelle Cummings, an evening MBA student at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business. Though he is also a full-time practicing physician as a Gastroenterologist and Advanced Endoscopist for New York City Health and Hospitals, he has always been interested in the business side of healthcare. The conference, therefore, was a perfect opportunity for him to explore finance and market-focused subjects.
Given this, Donelle’s experience at the conference was a good one. In fact, the conference had such a positive impact on him that he applied to be a member of the conference’s planning committee. Having been accepted, Donelle spent the past few months working with the committee to plan the next gathering, which will take place in Chicago this Fall.
In early September, I had the privilege of speaking with Donelle about his experience at the Spring conference and working with the planning team over the summer:
Elizabeth: For people who may not know what the Princeton Fintech and Quant Conference is, how would you explain it to them?
Donelle: I found out about the conference from the GCMC and decided to attend. It’s a conference geared toward graduate students and undergraduate students, and its goal is to expose these groups to leaders in academia, government, and the fintech and quant fields. These are not always the easiest people to get facetime with, or to be able to be in a room with, so we want to facilitate those interactions.
When I was at the conference this past spring, there were many undergrads and many grad students just happy to be there to network with one another through shared professional interest and be able to have one-on-one interactions with leaders in the field.
Elizabeth: It sounds like you’ve had a good experience. Why did it have such a positive impact on you?
Donelle: It’s the first conference I’ve been to in the financial field. We’re learning very complicated material, but the conference leaders were very open to answering questions, open to sharing contact information, and us sending emails to them asking follow-up questions.
Elizabeth: What are some of the things you learned?
Donelle: I went to a number of sessions. There was a lot of emphasis on high frequency trading, how those firms are established, some of the challenges in using high frequency trading platforms, and some of the benefits to the broader market. We discussed automated trading to bring down the cost of trading and that, in a way, democratizes the ability for people to trade, and it just has shaped the retail market. We talked a little more about the role of quants and machine learning. Those are the ones that really spoke out to me but again, I am still getting comfortable with this field.
Elizabeth: I certainly commend you for going to this conference! It must have been really fascinating and complex.
Donelle: It really is. Again, it’s a niche area because it’s sort of the nexus of computer science, computer engineering, and business. And obviously mathematics or other applied sciences. It has impacts in everything we do in terms of availability for ‘quant-ing’ things in the market and the way the market moves, and it’s changing so rapidly. So, when you have conferences like this where you can get these folks together, and students together, it’s a great opportunity for everybody.
Elizabeth: Let’s talk about you joining the Planning Committee. Why exactly did you decide that you wanted to apply for [it]?
Donelle: After reviewing and reflecting on my experience and the people I met, I was pretty impressed. Again, some of these attendees are grad students, some of these are undergrad students, who are obviously very busy... And I thought I would be able to help. I’m a new grad student, but I’ve had professional experience and when they asked for applicants, I figured I had a great experience – maybe I can contribute to someone else’s great experience.
So, I applied. It had essay questions, and it had a video component that I filmed to explain my passion. My motivation is that this is very business and engineering and com-sci focused, but it affects the economy in all areas. I think when you have people who may not have a typical background, [they] can offer a unique perspective, and so that’s why I thought I’d give it a shot. I submitted my materials, I was interviewed, and I was fortunately selected.
Elizabeth: Congratulations! What tasks are you responsible for right now?
Donelle: Thank you! My particular role is on the logistics side at this point. That’s making sure we have the website up and running and helping facilitate other needs by communicating to people for the conference.
Elizabeth: Is it a lot of digital communications, or do you get to communicate in-person with registrants?
Donelle: Right now, registration is all through Eventbrite, so we have a team that’s working on the registration. In terms of the other areas of focus, we have the speaker team working on just recruiting speakers.
The conference happens twice a year. The fall conference tends to be in Chicago, and the spring conference tends to be on a campus in Princeton, New Jersey. And just an aside, I do want to mention this: this is not affiliated with Princeton University. Historically, they have supported it, and the founders were from Princeton, but they don’t necessarily provide funding. But they do allow the use of their name.
But going back to the goal. The goal is to gain more experience with logistics and eventually, I will work more on the recruitment side as well. For now, since this is my first conference, I am learning the basic rules of how to organize [one].
Elizabeth: How do you like being part of the committee so far?
Donelle: I would say the pros are meeting people from other universities [and meeting] other MBA students. I like to be able to network with people from different institutions, from different parts of the country with different perspectives... I would say the drawback, unfortunately, is I just wish I had more time for it! Having just started the MBA program, I’m very busy... and then I'm working full-time in a busy clinical job. I just wish I could devote a little more time to [planning the conference] but I am doing the best I can!
Elizabeth: I am sure that you are doing great balancing all of that! I’m so glad that you are still able to reach your goals even being so busy with your full-time job. Let me ask one more question – from your overall experience, what are some things you learned about finding career opportunities, or what tips can you share with other students?
Donelle: I would say there are so many resources. Obviously, we had the internet when I was in college. We had online registration, and everything was online in the library but there is just so much more of it! I would say just being able to communicate is so much better. The whole social media aspect with WhatsApp and teleconferencing – we didn’t really have that. We are [now] able to speak with people rapidly. For example, the Graduate Career Management Center can Zoom with you; they are always sending emails out; even this Handshake app – I was super skeptical at first but that’s how I heard about this whole fintech and quant conference. I think there are just so many apps, so many places to get information and [to] get people to hear about great opportunities.
Donelle’s story inspires many who are looking to expand their knowledge, branch out to different industries, and accomplish a much-desired goal. In pursuit of his MBA degree, Donelle took the opportunity to attend the Princeton Fintech and Quant Conference and to apply for a role with the conference’s planning committee, which will no doubt present to him more occasions to learn about the world of business and how it can intertwine with his profession as a doctor. So here he is, taking opportunities as they come: an MD on the road to an MBA.
Elizabeth Moy is a graduate student in the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College, pursuing an MA in Corporate Communications. She is also a College Assistant with the Zicklin Graduate Career Management Center.
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