Forty-five FAMU students to intern on Wall Street

About 45 FAMU students from the School of Business and Industry (SBI) have secured Wall Street internships this summer.

“This is an especially impressive achievement given the current recessionary market conditions," said Karl Lawrence, Ph.D., a SBI finance professor.

Lawrence said that catalyst for the up-tick in Wall Street opportunities is SBI’s, recently implemented, Wall Street initiative which has a goal of placing 100 students in internships with Wall Street firms during the summer of 2010.

“We are ecstatic about our initial accomplishment and look forward to establishing ourselves as the pre-eminent institution for Wall Street opportunities and other challenging careers,” he said. “Having a permanent President and Dean, who make it a priority to invest resources in cultivating opportunities for our talented students, is a tremendous help.”

Sean Mitchell, FAMU’s executive director of the Chief Financier Organization (CFO), a student organization, said he is excited about the opportunity he will get this summer.

"It's truly amazing what this year means to all of us,” said Mitchell. “Last year, we had only 12 interns on Wall Street.”

Mitchell, a junior business administration and mathematics major and a returning investment banking intern at JPMorgan Chase, wants to someday run his own derivative boutique shop.

“It's speaks volumes to the value of ambition and hard work,” said Mitchell. “CFO has been able to educate and connect many of us this year. More than 85 percent of this year's interns are CFO members."

According to Lawrence, students who are able to secure permanent placement positions with Wall Street firms can expect to make $90,000 to $100,000 during their first year.

FAMU students will intern 10-weeks on Wall Street at JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Barclays among others. Student interns are expected to contribute and work long hours like other employees.