Category Archives: Career

by | May 7, 2018 · 9:41 am

Carlos Baeta ’18 at United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Office

By: Carlos Baeta ’18

During the Spring 2018 semester, I interned at the United Nation’s Department of Social Affairs within the E-Government division. During my internship, I was under the supervision of IPED alumnus and former Matteo Ricci scholar Deniz Susar ’08.

As an intern, my tasks included data analysis, research and report writing relating to some key deliverables within the office. The most salient project I worked on was the 2018 E-government survey, which will be published later this year. The E-government survey is important insofar as it highlights the importance of a government’s ability to leverage existing technologies to provide key services to their constituencies. Put differently, it analyzes how governments in the UN’s 193 member states use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT’s) to ensure sustainable development.

To this extent, it would be remiss of me not to mention how important IPED was in ensuring that I was able to maximize my experience at the United Nations. Firstly, the research methodology and analysis that I conducted on the E-government survey was similar to Dr. Schwalbenberg’s Foreign Aid and Development class. Given this, my experience working on the Fordham Francis Index (FFI) allowed me to understand the E-Government Development Index and its component parts from day one. Secondly, the Applied Econometrics class and my background in management consulting assisted in analyzing and presenting the data in creative ways. Finally, I believe that the extensive writing courses that we took as well as the robust feedback that we get from the professors improved my research and writing ability respectively.

In conclusion, I would recommend current and future IPED students to leverage Fordham’s proximity to the UN as a means of getting international experience that complements the coursework. Furthermore, I believe it prudent to use the IPED directory and alumni networks during the application process. Finally, it is important to acknowledge that IPED provides all of its students with the tools necessary for becoming economic researchers or public servants after graduation. The UNDESA is an opportunity that I would highly recommend to compliment your academic experience.

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by | April 16, 2018 · 12:33 pm

Wesley Milillo ’18 at Global Investment Bank, Societe Generale

By: Wesley Milillo ’18

I currently work in Prime Services at Societe Generale. Societe Generale is a French-based, global investment bank with branches and offices around the world. Prime Services is a division within Global Markets that helps clients borrow, sell, and trade financial products. Clients ranging from hedge funds, to other banks, to mutual funds, seek to engage in execution services—i.e. trading, as well as clearing and settling which consists of updating and reconciling the accounts between two parties. Prime Services helps them to do this efficiently.

IPED student Wesley Milillo ’19 works at Societe Generale.

At Society Generale, I am a Transition Manager. Transition Management is a consultative, project-management team that helps clients come into the bank and do business with us. After a Salesperson ‘makes the sale,’ and the client agrees to terms and prices, there is still a lot that goes into getting the client up and running. There is a lot of documentation that is involved, ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) procedures to ensure our clients have compliant backgrounds, Credit terms negotiation, customer due diligence, and technology and reporting set ups. I work with our clients to help them through all these processes with our internal teams, and get the client “live” and trading in a timely manner. Through this, we help build long-term partnerships with our clients and ensure that all necessary checks and balances necessary for a good relationship are in place.

Being an IPED student has helped me to see the big picture with respect to the much internationalized financial services sector. Aside from the holistic international economics courses I’ve taken, I’ve also taken some coding classes as well as data and modeling courses as well. Having a background in data and quantitative skills are highly regarded in the financial services sector, so having learned this while working has allowed me to better contribute my skills on a daily basis.

Societe Generale is the global investment bank where Wesley works.

As a student in IPED, I am much more exposed to others who also have a background in developing countries. Hearing their perspectives, and learning about the interactions between both the political realm and economic realm, helped me to understand not only the developing world more clearly, but also our economy and background. Gaining an understanding of global capital flows and markets has given me a much deeper appreciation for our global economy and has helped me better contextualize our place in it.

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by | April 11, 2018 · 11:26 am

Career Trips: Council on Foreign Relations

IPED students at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Last Friday, April 6th, Fordham IPED students participated in the Model Diplomacy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). The Model Diplomacy program is adaptable to short and long term simulations, with material on 14 politically debated topics. They offer students research materials and multimedia content to build students’ wholistic understanding of the topic of interest.

IPED students participate in the CFR Model Diplomacy program.

Twenty IPED students simulated a National Security Council (NSC) debate on Global Climate Change Policy. Each student represented a different role, from President of the United States, to Secretary of Defense, to Permanent Representative to the UN. In recognizing the importance of environmental stewardship and its social, economic, and political implications, the group made a collective recommendation to renegotiate our national commitments to the Paris Agreement.

By: Sarah Garwood ’19

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by | April 9, 2018 · 2:31 pm

Eleanor Reserva ’19 at UNICEF

Eleanor Reserva joined the UNICEF Data, Research, and Policy (DRP) Division as an intern in the Spring 2018 semester. She works under the supervision of Liliana Carvajal, IPED 2004 alumna, who serves as the focal point for Health at the Data and Analytics Section of DRP. Eleanor first met Ms. Carvajal during IPED’s career trip to the UN. In November 2017, UNICEF called for volunteers for data support work which Eleanor contributed to. After several weeks, the initial task called for a longer commitment and opened the door for an internship opportunity.

Eleanor at the IPED Career Trip to the UN last November 2017.

As an intern, Eleanor supports the projects and initiatives of the health data and analytics section. In particular, she conducts data analyses, creates data visualizations, manages maternal and newborn care databases, and generates reports for the health data and analytics section. She has also provided data support for the Every Child ALIVE campaign and the Progress for Every Child in the SDG Era report. “I have good background and exposure in quantitative analyses, but not in health. Not having the technical expertise was intimidating at the beginning, but I am thankful that Liliana guides me all the way through. It helps too that Liliana is an IPED alumna and therefore understands the mentoring I need and how to best complement the IPED Program,” says Eleanor.

Eleanor ’19 discussing several ideas for the Every Child ALIVE campaign with Liliana Carvajal ’04.

Eleanor during the Every Child ALIVE Campaign Launch in February 2018.

The internship also allowed Eleanor to be rapporteur for technical experts meetings regarding SDG indicators, such as the Adolescent Mental Health and Skilled Birth Attendant. She cites these meetings as one of the highlights of her internship and feels grateful to have witnessed how the raw and rough discussions evolved into actionable plans for all the stakeholders involved.

Eleanor with representatives from UNICEF Latin America and the Caribbean Regional

In her remaining months at UNICEF, Eleanor looks forward to seeing her work contribute to the goals of the UNICEF Health Data and Analytics Section of DRP in an integral way.

 

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by | March 10, 2018 · 5:37 pm

Presidential Management Fellowship Finalists Samantha Kinney ’18 & Edward Barbini ’18

Two Fordham IPED graduates, Samantha Kinney ’18 and Edward Barbini ’18, were selected as Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) Finalists. Both Samantha and Edward graduated with a masters degree in International Political Economy and Development and are pursuing a second masters degree in Economics. Samantha works at Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners, an organization which empowers low-income individuals in Upper Manhattan. Edward has been working at Westchester Intelligence Center, where he started as an Intern and now works full-time. Both Samantha and Edward participated in the IPED Philippines Project Assessment Program and the South Africa Emerging Markets Program.

PMF Finalists, Edward Barbini and Samantha Kinney.

The PMF Program is a highly competitive program with the United States government. As described on the PMF website, “…the PMF Program is a flagship leadership development program at the entry level for advanced degree candidates. It was created more than three decades ago by Executive Order and has gone through many changes over the years. The Program attracts and selects the best candidates possible, but is really designed with a more narrow focus – developing a cadre of potential government leaders. It provides some sustenance during the first years of employment and encourages development of leadership capabilities. The PMF Program inculcates a lasting bond as well as a spirit of public service, ultimately encouraging and leading to a career in the government.”

Congratulations to Samantha Kinney ’18 and Edward Barbini ’18 on their selection as PMF Finalists!

Click here to learn more about the Presidential Management Fellowship.

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