Success Story: Jordan Allen ’19 lands Credit Suisse internship

Success Stories | Aug 28, 2017 | admin

Imagine starting your morning with a 6:00 a.m. workout, then attending class at 8:30, followed by football practice all afternoon, and studying late into the night. Now imagine repeating this schedule every day.

It’s a lot to tackle, but Gabelli School junior Jordan Allen, BS ’19, didn’t stop there. He also found the time to land a prestigious internship as a sophomore.

This summer, Allen interned at Credit Suisse as part of the Doug Paul Scholarship Program.

The competitive program allows students to work alongside junior analysts, with Allen rotating between the equities cash trading, equities product flow, and prime services groups.

While he’s dreamed of working on Wall Street since he was a child, what brought Allen to Fordham was football, and the lessons he learned through managing his busy training schedule helped him achieve his internship goal.

It “takes a lot of conscious effort in terms of focusing on work and academics,” he says, so he always looks two steps ahead. That means he keeps “that sense of urgency—whether it’s a project or interview, you train for it or you review for it.”

It’s this constant drive that made him stand out when Cynthia Bush, director of career advising, suggested he try for the Doug Paul Scholarship opportunity.

With a freshman-year internship already under his belt, Allen credits his knowledge of how the markets work as the element that helped him secure the offer. “Early work experience will show people what you’ve already done.”

But it’s not just about the résumé. He’s found first impressions to be key, and he suggests students practice making connections with others as early as possible.

His other advice can be used on and off the football field: “Train so hard it’s almost impossible to fail.”

Allen’s taking the same approach as he plans his future.

“New York is definitely the place to be if you’re first starting your career in the finance industry,” he says. So for now, Wall Street is the end zone, and he’s confident he can make it there by continuing to work hard.

After all, he believes “the path you’re on will take you to where you want to go.”