The world of business is coming to York at the highest level with the addition of Corporate Finance Club (CFC). Run by John O’Connor, CFC allows students to learn about the world of corporate finance by giving them exposure to different concepts, different careers and real world applications.
Corporate finance is a specific branch of finance that focuses on how large companies handle their money and resources. With O’Connor’s passion for business and experience in finance, he’s excited there are so many Elmhurst parents who are willing to share their business knowledge with the next generation. So far this year, different guest speakers from different backgrounds, like a private equity investor, CFO and portfolio manager.
“I think students gain a better perspective from principals in our community that are experienced business professionals,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor is also looking forward to building the club up by collaborating with some big universities around the country. Like the University of Florida, the University of Wisconsin and the University of Notre Dame. O’Connor likes to incorporate a bunch of different ways to interact with the institutions making it more college-like. For instance reaching out to different professors or pairing up with the universities own corporate finance clubs.
“We do it multiple ways, we either do it with professors that are faculty advisers of the corporate finance clubs at the university, we also connect with the executive boards of the corporate finance club that exist at the university level,” O’Connor said. “We also have our own students reach out to the universities if they know anyone that our club can reach out to and help grow our community here at York.”
One of the club leaders, junior Ryan Aparti, serves as CFC secretary. He is really focused on pursuing a career in the financial industry. When Aparati was presented with the idea of being a club leader for a growing club like CFC, he pounced on the opportunity to work on something he is passionate about. He thinks that being a leader of CFC will give him great experience and skills allowing himself to be successful. In addition, he is focused on helping others achieve more business knowledge. Aprati has really embraced and enjoyed the process of being a leader of CFC.
“My favorite part of being a CFC Leader is interacting with others who share similar goals and passions,” Aprati said. “When you have those people around you, you can accomplish a lot.”
Aprati isn’t leading CFC alone, as he is joined by the rest of the executive board. The board includes David Pike and Landon Mcquade as Co-founders and Presidents of the club, George Referan, Vice President of the club, along with members Sophia Fasheh and Elena Kramp. The club leaders put in a lot of time and effort to make sure students have a fun and rewarding experience. They dedicate their time to attending every meeting, carefully planning the agenda and overseeing meeting discussions to keep everything running smoothly. Additionally, they are overseeing something called Project Alpha. Project Alpha allows underclassmen to attend meetings and learn the basics of finance. Everyone is welcome to these meetings and are assisted by the mentors of the club. The experience for underclassmen is a chance to get their feet wet into the world of finance. The feedback has been positive and most of the underclassmen are enjoying their experiences so far.
“My experience in the Corporate Finance Club has been great so far, as it has given me valuable insights into the industry,” Freshman Will O’Leary said.
Overall, the start of the Corporate Finance Club has been very successful and O’Connor has a great group of leaders and supporters of the club. The club has successfully had six guest speakers, and has connected with three universities in the span of this year alone. The sky is the limit and the opportunities are endless for Corporate Finance Club members this year and beyond, as they plan to grow the club even bigger.
“The intent of CFC is to serve as a branch of the other business clubs at York and classes to further students’ skills and give them an edge in the highly competitive business environment,” Aprati said. “With these advantages the club has and the executive board, we are excited for the years to come and what we can accomplish in the future.”
