Barron Natelli

2018

Applied Economics

Management

Oppenheimer & Company, Florham Park, New Jersey

Barron has been interested in finance for years and was inspired by his dad who is a financial advisor. He took an interest in Oppenheimer & Company and was able to get an interview through a friend, which led to an internship offer. He was familiar with a lot of financial information through his courses at Ursinus. But during his internship he gained extensive experience in financial technology like the Bloomberg Terminal and other software programs. A regular day for Barron included stock research, communicating with fund managers, and keeping his boss up to date with the stock news. He also had to be prepared to take on any task that needed to be done which made the days go by really quickly. Barron felt that being constantly assigned a variety of tasks gave him real insight into the kind of work he’ll be doing after graduation.

Because Barron had to pay attention to the stocks and trends in the news, close reading was an important skill used during his internship. He had to be completely sure of the exact numbers and percentages involved before bringing the information to his boss. He also improved his communication skills, not only in person but also through e-mail correspondence. It was expected to communicate as professionally as possible.

There were a lot of people that left a positive influence on Barron at Oppenheimer & Company. His manager made sure he was settled in and always comfortable with any of the assignments given to him. Having the manager to go to for help made Barron feel more confident and welcome in a new environment. In addition, his co-workers always went out of their way to keep him in the loop on what was discussed in meetings. They’d share ideas and plans of action with him which truly made him feel a part of the company.

Barron hopes that the internship will open doors for him after graduating from Ursinus. He met with a lot of professionals in the finance field this summer and feels he made a positive impression on them. Through networking, Barron hopes to continue a career at Oppenheimer & Company. However, he feels ready to pursue a career anywhere because of the valuable experience he gained at his internship.

Barron enjoyed being a part of client meetings with his boss. Each client had their own approach to investing and he was able to get a well-rounded idea of the different approaches. He specifically liked being able to directly communicate with the clients. Barron believes that client relations is one of the most important aspects in finance and this internship gave him real-world experience on how to maintain relationships in the field.

“Never turn down an opportunity. Who knows what something would lead to? You could possibly meet someone that knows about another opportunity that interests you. Also, go full speed ahead and never do half the job because it is embarrassing to be called out for being lazy or submitting incomplete work.”