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Krzysztof Wojciechowski – New York City Reflection

I recently had the privilege to attend a Wabash College alumni/student networking event held in New York City. Over the course of two days I learned a lot about what it would take to live, work, and succeed in the world’s greatest city. I not only had the opportunity to meet and chat with several major players in a variety of industries but also the chance to see some of the world’s biggest companies up-close. The views of the Brooklyn Bridge or the Midtown Skyline from the boardrooms of Goldman Sachs and Bank of America respectively were awe-inspiring. New York City takes on a much different feel looking down on it instead of up.
One of the most beneficial experiences I had during the trip was the alumni/student cocktail reception held in the Limerick Room of Rosie O’Grady’s, a restaurant not far from Rockefeller Center. There, while dining on shrimp and oysters, I was able to engage in several highly informative conversations with alums such as A.J. Lindeman ’91 and John Branecki ’05. Mr. Lindeman was a Physics major at Wabash and is now an Executive Director with Morgan Stanley, modeling complex financial derivatives. Mr. Branecki, who I was able to converse with in my native language Polish, is a controller for Goldman Sachs. He told me that although the work was intense and often hectic there was no aspect of his job that he didn’t love. He credited this to the fact that he’s surrounded by extraordinarily brilliant people everyday.
Perhaps the most successful part of the trip for me was not even at a Wabash function. During some of my free time I had the opportunity to converse in a very informal setting with the principal partner of the largest accounting firm in Kansas. Although John W. Meara is not an alumnus of Wabash, his nephew John is and is graduating this spring. During our talk, Mr. Meara basically said, "If you want one, I’ll give you a job or internship in a split second." Although Kansas City may not quite be New York City, I’d gladly take the experience. I would’ve never met Mr. Meara had I not gone to New York.
I learned a great deal during my time in New York: if I want to be successful there I’m going to have to work very hard. Working 70 to 80 hours a week is the norm at a majority of banks and other financial institutions, and all-nighters at the office are not unheard of. Actually, they’re quite common. However, I feel that by being exposed to this environment as a budding sophomore, I have seen what it takes. If I can learn to work hard and succeed at Wabash, I can definitely work hard and succeed in New York City.

More Reflections:

Alex Goga ‘08
"I really enjoyed the New York trip and I definitely think the college should arrange such a trip in the future. I especially enjoyed talking with recent alumni, as well as older ones to find out how they made it after Wabash."

Tim Hunt ‘07
"I would have to say that this was the most influential experience Wabash College has had to offer.  Not only did I get to meet and understand the career aspects of NY, but the culture and lifestyle as well.  I also appreciate the investment this trip was.  I learned a lot about what it is going to take to make it in NY and have found myself using that as inspiration for my final year at school."

Victor Meng ‘09
"By participating in this trip, I understand what the NYC life looks like and what I should prepare for working in the finance industry in the future. Wabash is a great school, but we still have a location disadvantage, especially for students who want to work on the east coast; this trip, however, did provide those students, like me, a great chance to see ‘another world’. I hope that you can keep managing such trip every year or even every semester to let more students benefit from it."