2023

Adrienne Ellison ’23 Starts Her Career With Goldman Sachs

Ellison, a double major in economics and finance, credits faculty coaching and Career Center support for her placement at a top firm.

By: Meghan Kita  Thursday, July 20, 2023 00:54 PM

Adrienne Ellison ’23, a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs

Adrienne Ellison ’23, an economics and finance double major, interviewed for the Goldman Sachs internship she had the summer after her junior year a full year earlier, after her sophomore year, a timeline typical to major firms. She recalls how her professors — and specifically Lecturer of Economics & Finance Roger Slane and Adjunct Professor of Accounting, Business, Economics & Finance JC Fernandez-Seoane — helped coach her through the demanding, multi-round interview process.

“The two professors I mentioned, they both worked in the finance industry, and they helped a lot with [helping me understand] what I actually needed to know for technical interviews,” says Ellison, who is now a financial analyst with the firm. “One thing I liked about Muhlenberg was, in the Economics and Finance [Programs], you had professors who had worked in the industry and then you had some who were in academia for a long time, who focused a little bit more on theory. You had a balance.”

As she was interviewing with Goldman Sachs after sophomore year, she was also completing her first internship with Hirtle Callaghan, the investment company that manages the College’s endowment. That internship experience gave her confidence that she wanted to pursue a career in investment. Ellison connected with that opportunity through the Career Center, a campus resource she found transformative.

“I wouldn’t be where I am if I didn’t go to Muhlenberg,” says Ellison, who remembers traveling to New York City with the Career Center as a first-year student. “Learning how to talk to adults about being in the industry and how to network — I don’t think I would have done [that] as a freshman at any other school. Muhlenberg has so many opportunities, it’s almost hard not to take them.”

Ellison was also a student-athlete on the cross-country and track teams, a peer tutor and a resident advisor during her time at Muhlenberg.