4 - Exploring Financial Disciplines at Tepper w/ Eleanore Marsh

Humans of Tepper

Welcome to Humans of Tepper, a podcast that gives an insider view on the Tepper MBA student experience. We’re back with our hosts Rohit and Cynthia, who are chatting with Eleanore Marsh about her experience. Eleanore moved to New York City shortly after finishing her undergrad degree in finance. There, she worked for Wells Fargo for roughly 5 years, during which time she thoroughly studied MBA programs to evaluate the best next step for her career. Today, she’s a second year Tepper student. As a Pittsburgh native, she’s enjoying being back in the city of her childhood.

Eleanore chose Tepper because she wanted something that would stretch her beyond her comfort zone and diversify her experience. She loves how the program examines modern tech and its influence on the business landscape, and the way that a smaller student body (roughly 200 students per graduating class versus some programs’ 1000) gives her a true community experience with fellow students and alumni. From the beginning of her time at Tepper, Eleanore has been closely involved in the Graduate Finance Association (or GFA) which focuses on disciplines such as investment banking, corporate finance, and corporate or business development. Their goal is primarily to prepare finance students for the interview and recruitment process. In addition, they foster supplemental finance education, open to all students. This involves practicums and discussions of interest to everyone such as a recent forum on the GameStop incident, thus dissolving the barriers that make finance feel inaccessible to many of us.

As the current president of the GFA, Eleanore’s goal is to further the accessibility of financial education to the student body, preparing them with the vocabulary to truly understand key concepts. She’s passionate about the idea that a greater understanding of finance principles will help students become more effective leaders no matter what their position or emphasis.

Eleanore also discusses the employment and recruitment pipeline in the finance landscape for Tepper students and alumni. While Tepper has been historically strong in placing finance students, there has been a recent shift in where specifically these students are placed, including a targeted focus on the ever-developing FLDPs (Finance Leadership Development Programs) within major corporations, which give participants rotating positions so they can understand different elements within an organization.

Before we finished, we asked Eleanore for some insider info about her native city. Growing up, Eleanore’s father often told her that Pittsburgh has everything that a big city has to offer. While she felt skeptical of his words as a child, having lived in New York for 5 years, she can now attest to its truthfulness. Historic powerhouse investors such as Carnegie and Mellon ensured legacy arts programs (not to mention educational programs such as ours), and the up-and-coming nightlife and social scenes have even earned neighborhoods such as Lawrenceville the title of “the new Brooklyn.” Eleanore offers a few recommended highlights of the city, from the best views in town to the Cathedral of Learning’s Nationality Rooms.

Things You Will Learn

1. Tepper’s long-established strengths and shifting focus on future avenues for students who want to specialize in finance.
2. The focus and offerings of various finance programs and associations within Tepper’s MBA program.
3. Insider information on Pittsburgh’s history, culture, and favorite haunts.

Links

https://tepper.campusgroups.com/gfa/home/