The Graduate Scholarship Committee proudly introduces the 2010-2011 FWA Graduate Scholars, all from schools in the NYC metropolitan area. These gifted young women were selected by their schools in accordance with the FWA criterion of academic achievement and demonstrated leadership.
As of the academic year 2010-2011, the FWA has doubled the awards to $10,000 per scholarship. The merit-based FWA Graduate Scholarships are awarded to students in the second and final year of their programs, so that they can benefit from access to the network of FWA members during the job search and from free admission to FWA programs when fine-tuning their professional objectives. Through access to FWA members and events, the Graduate Scholarship Program creates a network that benefits scholars both immediately and over the long term. Because Scholars receive complimentary FWA membership for the year following graduation, they enter a "pipeline" leading to continued access to the benefits of FWA membership and long-term active participation in the FWA.
The “Next Generation” of 2010-2011 FWA Graduate Scholars
 Cristina Andrade
Fordham Graduate School of Business
MBA in Finance and Accounting Summer 2011
Before attending Fordham, Cristina worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Systems and Process Assurance practice. Cristina specialized in financial services clients and supported the Philadelphia and New York offices. Cristina has been an active contributor to the Fordham community through her participation as the VP of Finance on two of the most active student organizations, Fordham Women in Business and the Black and Hispanic MBA Association. Last summer, Cristina was a Corporate Finance Intern at Quest Diagnostics where she was able to put into practice the analytical skills acquired during her first year of post-graduate education. After graduation, Cristina will join the MBA Corporate Finance Rotational Program at Quest Diagnostics as a Senior Financial Analyst.
 Julia Brown
Julia Brown is a second year student in the Master of International Affairs program. Prior to coming to SIPA, she worked in monitoring and evaluation of microfinance institutions in Ecuador and the San Francisco bay area, conducting both qualitative and quantitative surveys to determine program effectiveness. While at SIPA, Julia has been actively involved on the board of the Microfinance Working Group. She has also interned with EA Consultants, where she worked on projects analyzing women’s constraints to small business ownership in Latin America and assessing the feasibility of offering microinsurance to low-income Mexican immigrants in New York City. She will be graduating in May, 2011 with a concentration in Economic and Political Development and a specialization in Advanced Policy and Economic Analysis. After graduation, she hopes to continue working in the field of microfinance, specifically doing statistical analysis of the effectiveness of microfinance programs. She is a native of New York City.
 Marisa Forte
NYU Stern School of Business
MBA in Finance and Global Business expected Spring 2011
Before coming to Stern, Marisa spent five years working in the financial services industry. She started her career at Lehman Brothers as an analyst in the Municipal Finance Division where she provided financing for State, Local and Public Housing Authorities. She was later promoted to Associate and moved within the Firm to a role in the Office of the Chairman. At Stern, Marisa has served as Executive Vice President and Co-President of Stern Women in Business and as a research assistant to an NYU finance professor. She plans to spend the spring semester on exchange at IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain as part of her Global Business specialization. Last summer, she interned on the Corporate Finance team at Avon Products, and plans to return there after graduation.
 Jing (Priscilla) Sheng
Baruch College Zicklin School of Business
MBA in Finance expected summer 2011
Jing (Priscilla) spent last summer as an intern at NASDAQ OMX, developing field experience in US equity market structure, exchange operations and regulation. She is an active member of student organization such as Finance and Investment Club and Trading Floor Financial Services Center. Before Baruch College, Jing (Priscilla) earned BA in English and Music Education from the top universities in Shanghai (Shanghai International Studies University and Shanghai Conservatory of Music). She actively participated in different educational contests in China, earning 1st place in Shanghai Bilingual Teaching Contest in 2006 and 2nd place in Jing’s Scientific & Research Thesis Contest in 2004. Jing is passionate about stock exchange and equity markets, and expects to launch her career in those areas of finance after graduation.
 Maria Testani
After graduating from Columbia, Maria will be working as an associate at Leerink Swann, a healthcare focused investment bank located in New York. Before business school, Maria was an associate at a boutique investment bank, Salem Partners, where she advised life sciences and technology start-ups through the venture capital funding process. Prior to Salem Partners, Maria was an investment banking analyst at Citigroup in New York and Wachovia in Los Angeles. As an analyst, Maria advised numerous clients on capital raises and mergers and acquisitions in the energy, gaming and entertainment sectors. Maria is also an active volunteer for New York Says Thank You, a non-profit organization which travels to disaster ravaged cities every 9/11 anniversary and assists in the rebuild of the community. Maria graduated Summa Cum Laude from New York University’s Stern School of Business with a BS in Finance and Accounting.
|
